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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687485">Whirlwind</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy45/pseuds/Happy45'>Happy45</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chicago Fire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:56:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687485</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy45/pseuds/Happy45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All she felt was a slight resentment that he’d slept well, and she hadn’t. When she got to his quarters, Matt wasn’t there, so she took full advantage of the private space while he was gone. She pulled the blinds, turned off the lights and lay down on his cot. As soon as she lay down, however, she was reminded of how queasy lying down really made her feel. She snapped upright and put her head in the palm of her hand. What the hell was wrong with her? She never got sick.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>397</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Whirlwind</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi everyone!</p><p>So... I don't really know where this came from lol I just had an idea and I ran with it and this is what became of it!</p><p>I hope you enjoy this little oneshot. It's set in an imaginary established Brettsey land.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Whirlwind</strong> </span>
</p><p>Sylvie sulked into Matt’s quarters, her eyes already halfway shut. She felt truly<em> miserable</em> today. She barely slept the night before due to a pounding headache and a queasy stomach. It was only made worse at 3am when she looked over at her boyfriend to find him sleeping without a care in the world.</p><p>After spending a year sleeping beside him, Sylvie had learnt three things about Matt – he could sleep through anything, he always snuggled into her subconsciously and the bed head that he woke up with was the sweetest yet sexiest thing in the world.</p><p>But right now, all she felt was a slight resentment that he’d slept well, and she<em> hadn’t</em>. When she got to his quarters, Matt wasn’t there, so she took full advantage of the private space while he was gone. She pulled the blinds, turned off the lights and lay down on his cot. As soon as she lay down, however, she was reminded of how queasy lying down really made her feel. She snapped upright and put her head in the palm of her hand. What the <em>hell</em> was wrong with her? She <em>never</em> got sick. </p><p>Before she could contemplate her next move, the door opened and Matt appeared, already looking confused by the fact that his blinds were closed. As soon as he saw Sylvie, his face fell.</p><p>“You still don’t feel well?” he asked, growing more and more concerned for her. When he woke up this morning, Sylvie was already up and dressed. He had immediately picked up on how tired she was. The normal spring in her step wasn’t there, she wasn’t humming around the room like she normally did and she was unusually pale in complexion.</p><p>Sylvie shook her head and sighed as Matt closed the door and sat down beside her on the bunk, his hand immediately moving to rub her back while his other hand checked her temperature against her cheek.</p><p>“You are a little hot.” He concluded.</p><p>“I thought I would feel better as the day went on but it’s not looking likely. I’ve barely eaten anything.” She told him. A dry piece of toast was all she could manage this morning.</p><p>“Sounds like the stomach flu.” Matt suggested. “Maybe you should go home and rest?”</p><p>Sylvie shook her head, “I just want to take a nap, but every time I lie down I feel worse.” She said with a groan.</p><p>“I think we could do something about that” he said as he moved across the bed. He sat in the corner, his back against the headboard and his legs stretched out in front of him. He opened his arm and motioned for Sylvie to snuggle into his side.</p><p>Sylvie smiled softly at him. Aside from her ridiculously comfortable bed, Matt’s chest was her next favourite place to sleep. Hearing his heartbeat steadily against her was the most calming thing.</p><p>She looked down in his lap and saw he still had his paperwork in hand. She quirked a brow, “Are you really going to do your paperwork one-handed?”</p><p>Matt shrugged, “If it means you rest? Absolutely.”</p><p>Sylvie manoeuvred herself so she was resting against him, her head in the crook of his neck. Almost instantly, her stomach started to settle as he delicately ran his fingers up and down her arm. She sighed contently as she closed her eyes.</p><p>“You’re like a magical sleeping pill.” She said sleepily as she felt him smile against her head before she drifted into a peaceful sleep.</p>
<hr/><p><em>Maybe Sylvie had a point about the one-handed paperwork thing</em>, Matt thought as he tried to do his work without disrupting his sleeping girlfriend. In the twenty minutes she’d been asleep, he’d managed to complete two forms. It wasn’t exactly ideal, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was Sylvie feeling better. He felt so guilty this morning when he woke up to find her so miserable. He knew that her nausea wasn’t exactly his fault, but he still felt her misery like it was his own – it had always been that way between them, and he would always find ways to take away her pain (even if his arm was well and truly numb right now).</p><p>He managed to write another sentence before the door to his quarters opened and Severide appeared.</p><p>“Hey Case—”</p><p>Matt immediately shushed him and motioned down to Sylvie’s sleeping form. Severide frowned.</p><p>“Is she ok?”</p><p>“Stomach flu. She didn’t sleep well last night.” Matt whispered. “What’s up?”</p><p>“I just wanted to check you and Brett were good to come over for dinner tomorrow night. Stella wants to discuss some wedding stuff.” Severide explained. He had proposed to his girlfriend a little over a month ago and they had officially moved on from the newly engaged bliss stage and into the crazy planning stage. Naturally, Sylvie and Matt were serving as best man and maid of honour, so Stella wanted their help and input on pretty much everything. “I’m sure it could wait though if Brett’s not feeling great.”</p><p>Matt shook his head, “She won’t want to miss it and hopefully it will pass by tomorrow.” Sylvie had been so excited for their friends. She loved <em>love</em> and seeing the love their two best friends shared was the most beautiful thing in the world to her. Alongside that, Sylvie <em>lived</em> for planning. She’d even developed a very detailed spreadsheet for Stella to help her keep organised. She really did thrive over this kind of stuff.</p><p>Over the past year Matt had really noticed how frustrated Sylvie could get when things didn’t quite go to plan. Whether it was on a call or something as insignificant as cooking dinner, unexpected happenings were not something she appreciated. She was, however, more than capable of handling herself and thinking on her feet when things strayed from design. For that reason, Stella couldn't have asked for a better best friend to help her plan this wedding. Sylvie was always prepared for whatever life decided to throw at her.</p><p>Severide chuckled lightly, “Stella and Brett are going to have this thing so well planned, all I have to do is show up on the day.”</p><p>Matt smirked, “Sounds about right.”</p><p>Severide turned to leave just as the bells went off calling all units to respond to a residential fire downtown. Sylvie woke up with a start as she sprung up. Matt quickly steadied her as they began to leave the room.</p><p>“You sure you’re ok to go out there?” he asked, his hand firmly planted around her waist.</p><p>Sylvie nodded, “Yeah, I feel much after that” she said with a little wink as she rushed out the door, ready to spring into action. Matt smiled after her as he followed her to the apparatus floor – her ability to put herself to the side in order to help others would never cease to amaze him.</p>
<hr/><p>When 51 got to the scene of the firehouse, they worked as seamlessly as usual to sweep the house and rescue the family that were trapped. Severide and Kidd had handed three little kids off first to Brett and Mackey. They seemed to be ok. A few cuts and bruises and minor smoke inhalation. They were incredibly agitated, however. Understandably so, their life as they knew it was now in a pile of ash. But more than that, their parents had yet to come out of the house. Casey and Kidd were still inside looking for them.</p><p>Boden shouted down the radio for Casey and Kidd to get out of there. The house looked like it was moments away from collapse. They could hear the creaking of the beams from the street.</p><p>Brett watched anxiously for her boyfriend and best friend to appear from the smoke. She knew they wouldn’t want to leave without the parents, and they would be cutting it<em> incredibly</em> fine. Brett was half preparing herself to have to rush Casey and Kidd to Med too.</p><p>“Casey, Kidd, get out of there now!” Boden shouted down the radio as the creaking of the beams became unbearable.</p><p>Brett watched in slow motion as the roof beams gave in and began to fall – just as Casey, Kidd and the parents appeared at the door. Brett let out a deep breath she didn’t realise she was holding in. She also didn’t notice one of the kids running past her and towards the collapsing house to see his parents until he was half way there.</p><p><em>“Wait!”</em> she shouted as she launched after him.</p><p>The house collapsed around them as Casey and Kidd covered the parents and Brett threw herself over the kid to protect him from the falling debris as it bounced around them. As the dust settled, Brett waited until things were totally silent before she dared to lift her head.</p><p>As soon as she did, she saw Gallo and Mouch rush over to her and help her to her feet. Two other paramedics who had arrived at the scene quickly took the boy away from her as Brett found her bearings. She looked around her, her mind settling when she saw Matt helping the father over to the ambulance. He was fine, everyone was fine.</p><p>As soon as Matt had helped them onto the gurney, he turned around and rushed over to Sylvie, his face full of worry. He’d watched her run after that boy and his heart <em>sunk</em> knowing she could get hurt by the falling debris. This was the last thing she needed considering she felt so terrible earlier.</p><p>“Are you ok?!” he asked immediately as he held onto her arms and looked her over for any obvious injuries.</p><p>Sylvie nodded, “I’m fine, I’m fine, are you?” she asked, looking him over in the exact same way.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m ok.”</p><p>“I <em>ow</em>—” Sylvie said as she felt a sting on her head. She lifted her fingers to her scalp and felt some blood drop down her forehead. Matt immediately inspected the cut.</p><p>“You need to get to Med, that needs cleaned and stitched.” He told her as she nodded a little reluctantly. Medics made the worst patients and the thought of sitting in a bed in Med for a couple of hours really did not appeal to her. “Get checked for a concussion while you’re there too and see if they can get to the bottom of your nausea.”</p><p>“Casey—”</p><p>“No arguments Sylvie.” He said resolutely as she pouted slightly. They could both be a little too stubborn for their own good.</p><p>Matt lifted a gloved hand and removed a little piece of dirt from her hair. “I promise you can sleep against my chest for the rest of the day afterwards.” He told her quietly so only she could hear.</p><p>Sylvie bit her lip to stop her from smiling too widely, “sounds like a fair deal.”</p><p>Matt ran his hand down Sylvie’s arm and squeezed her hand before letting her walk back to the ambulance. He couldn’t wait to hold her just that little bit tighter once they got back to the firehouse.</p>
<hr/><p>Sylvie sat patiently in one of the bays at Med, waiting for someone to come and see her. Maggie had placed a temporary bandage on her head to stop the laceration from bleeding anymore and had told her it didn’t look too serious and it would only need a few stitches.</p><p>It wasn’t long before Natalie appeared at the door and greeted her friend with a smile.</p><p>“Hi Sylvie, I hear you guys got caught up in a house collapse today.” She said with a grimace as Sylvie nodded her head.</p><p>“Unfortunately, yeah. Thankfully, everyone was ok. Just a few cuts and bruises” she said as she pointed towards her head. Natalie removed the bandage and looked at the cut.</p><p>“Yeah, that will only need a few stitches and we’ll check for any signs of concussion, but you seem pretty lucid to me.” Natalie said, her voice calm enough that Sylvie knew she didn’t have to worry, it was just routine.</p><p>“Ok… oh!” she suddenly remembered. “I haven’t been feeling great the past few days, headaches, nausea, general exhaustion. I’m sure it’s nothing but Casey will be super mad at me if I go back to the firehouse and tell him I didn’t bring it up.”</p><p>Natalie chuckled, “yeah we can run some bloods, make sure everything checks out. I’ll get Maggie to come by and do that now and then we’ll get you patched up. Hang tight, shouldn’t be too long.”</p><p>Sylvie nodded gratefully, “Thanks Natalie.”</p><p>As Natalie left the room, Mackey appeared at the door with some jello in her hands.</p><p>“I thought you might be hungry, but this was all I could manage to score…” she said with a little regretful laugh.</p><p>Sylvie smiled, “Thank you, but I’m really not hungry. I <em>cannot</em> keep a <em>thing</em> down today. The smell of bacon in the common room this morning really turned my stomach.”</p><p>Mackey raised her eyebrows in surprise. Nausea, headaches, sensitive to smell… she was surprised Sylvie hadn’t caught on to what could be going on. Then again, medics weren’t the best at self-diagnosis. It was either nothing or the worst case scenario in their minds.</p><p>“I heard Dr. Manning say she’s going to run some blood tests?” Mackey asked.</p><p>“Yeah, just making sure everything is as it should be.” Sylvie said with a casual shrug.</p><p>Mackey didn’t say anything. Rather, she just bit her lip. It really wasn’t her place to suggest what could be going on but at the same time – she could <em>burst</em> with excitement at the idea. Sylvie narrowed her eyes as Mackey’s suspicious silence.</p><p>“What?” Sylvie asked curiously.</p><p>“Oh nothing, it’ll just be interesting to see what the blood tests show…” Mackey said as she backed away to the door. “I’m going to check up on the fire victims we brought in. Call me when you’re ready to go.” She said before quickly leaving the room.</p><p>Sylvie stared after her partner for a few moments. <em>Interesting?</em> How would it be <em>interesting</em>? She shook the confusion from her head. She was too tired to overthink that one.</p>
<hr/><p>After her concussion test checked out and her head was stitched up, Sylvie waited another hour or so for her blood tests to come back. She really just wanted to get back to work and was growing impatient by the time Natalie appeared at the door, tablet in hand.</p><p>“Hey, I have your blood work here” Natalie said as she looked down at the screen. “Everything looks good.” She confirmed as Sylvie let out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding in.</p><p>“Just a 24-hour thing then?” she asked hopefully.</p><p>Natalie looked up with a grin, “More like a nine-month thing.”</p><p>Sylvie’s mouth fell open slightly. “I’m sorry?” she asked quietly. Her mind was racing at what Natalie seemed to be suggesting, but she needed to really hear the words before she could even accept that it was true.</p><p>“Congratulations Sylvie – you’re pregnant.”</p><p>Sylvie’s eyes widened and her mouth fell further as she took a moment to process what she just heard. <em>Pregnant</em>. She was <em>pregnant.</em> There was a <em>baby</em> inside her.<em> Her</em> baby. Her and <em>Matt’s</em> baby. Oh my <em>god. </em></p><p>She felt her eyes fill with tears as her shock turned to a little flutter in her chest. <em>She was having a baby.</em></p><p> “I’m pregnant.” She whispered to herself as Natalie let out a small, breathy laugh and nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, you are.” She replied as Maggie wheeled in a sonogram machine. “I would like to do a sonogram considering you took a bit of a fall today. I see no reason why your baby shouldn’t be ok, but there’s no harm in being cautious at this stage.”</p><p>Sylvie gulped and nodded her head as Maggie helped her lie backwards. Sylvie was barely paying attention as Natalie lifted up her shirt and poured the cold gel across her stomach. She felt like she was in a dream like state. She was about to see her baby and – and Matt wasn’t here. Her heart sunk. She didn’t want to do this without him. Everything seemed to be happening in a flash.</p><p>“Ok, by the size of your baby I’m guessing you’re around 7 weeks along. Baby is a little blueberry right now. Due date would be around 10<sup>th</sup> April next year.” she heard Natalie say – but she still didn’t look at the machine. “It’s a little too early to hear the heartbeat, but when you and Matt come back in a few weeks for a 10 week scan you’ll be able to hear it racing like a little train.” She said with a bright smile.</p><p>Sylvie’s panic settled as Natalie mentioned Matt. Yes, he was missing this moment, but this pregnancy would be so much more than a 2-minute check-up.  In a few weeks they would hear the heartbeat together, they would see every stage of their baby’s growth over the next 30 odd weeks and then they would have their baby to shower with an abundance of love.  This was only the start of something truly amazing.</p><p>Sylvie finally turned and looked at the monitor, her heart skipped a beat when she saw their little blueberry on the screen. Her heart felt so <em>full.</em> Natalie printed off a few images of the baby before wiping Sylvie’s stomach clean of the gel and helping her sit up.</p><p>“Everything looks really good Sylvie, I see no cause for concern. The nausea is totally normally and will probably continue for the next little while. Since it’s so early, I would recommend getting plenty of rest, drink plenty of water and eat carbohydrates. Ginger also works for a lot of people. If it gets really severe then I would speak to your OB about other options.”</p><p>Sylvie nodded slowly, barely taking in a <em>word</em> Natalie said. All she could think about was getting back to the firehouse and telling Matt. She smiled lightly to herself. She couldn’t wait to see his reaction.</p><p>“Maggie has your discharge papers ready to go. Is there anything else I can do for you at this stage?” Natalie asked.</p><p>“You can give me those visuals” Sylvie said with a little laugh as she nodded to the images in Natalie’s hand.</p><p>Natalie smiled and handed them over. “Congratulations again. Being a mom – it’s the best thing in the world.”</p><p>Sylvie nodded her head. She already knew that that was true.</p>
<hr/><p>Sylvie jumped out of the ambulance when they got back to the station and power walked through the apparatus floor and into the lounge. She quickly scanned the room and saw Matt wasn’t there.</p><p>“Is Casey in his quarters?” she asked as Capp looked up from the table to answer.</p><p>“No, he got called to a meeting at headquarters with Boden.” Capp explained as Sylvie let out a frustrated sigh.</p><p>“Did they say when they’d be back?” she asked eagerly.</p><p>Capp merely shrugged and looked back at his magazine as Stella approached her. “Everything ok at Med?” she asked her friend as she nodded towards her stitches.</p><p>Sylvie wondered why she was motioning at her head before catching on. She’s totally forgotten why she was in Med in the first place.</p><p>“Oh, yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” She said – a little too quickly for Stella’s liking.</p><p>“Ok…” she said slowly. “Can I get you something to eat? Casey said you haven’t really been eating the past few days.”</p><p>“I’m good, I’m just going to take a shower, wash the day away.” She said with a tight-lipped smile before she spun on her feet and dashed towards the locker room. She couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended on it, and she knew if Stella had have asked even one more slightly probing question, she would have cracked.</p><p>But she couldn’t – not until she spoke to Matt. As she was rounding the corner, she bumped straight into Hermann and stumbled back slightly.</p><p>“Sorry Hermann” she apologised quickly.</p><p>“No problem kid, you feeling ok?”</p><p>Sylvie smiled and nodded, “Yeah, all good.” She confirmed before walking on through the sleeping quarters.</p><p>Hermann was about to walk on when he spotted something Sylvie appeared to have dropped when she bumped into him.</p><p>“Hey Brett, you dropped your—<em>oh</em>.” He called after her, but he stopped himself as he lifted the item from the floor and studied it.</p><p>A sonogram. Brett dropped a sonogram. Hermann’s eyes widened in panic at what he’d stumbled across. This was big news. <em>Huge</em> news in fact. Hermann frantically looked around him to see if anybody else was about.</p><p><em>Nope</em>. Just him. Just him and this <em>secret.</em></p><p>He cursed to himself. How was he supposed to keep this one quiet?!</p><p><em>He couldn’t</em>. He couldn’t keep it quiet, he <em>had</em> to tell someone or he might<em> burst</em>.</p><p>He lifted his phone out of his pocket and did another sweep of the corridor to make sure nobody else was around before he dialled Cindy’s number.</p><p>“Honey, you’ll never guess what I just found out…”</p>
<hr/><p>Sylvie was going crazy. It had been almost two hours since she’d returned from Med and Matt still hadn’t come back from his meeting. As important as she knew his meeting probably was, this felt astronomically <em>more</em> important.</p><p>She sat on her bunk impatiently jiggling her knee up and down just wishing he would walk through that door. As much as she wanted to tell him their news, she also just wanted to <em>hug</em> him. She was craving the feeling of his touch more than anything right now.</p><p>“Hey” she heard a voice say behind her as her head snapped round to reveal Stella. “I know we’re talking wedding stuff tomorrow at dinner, but I just wanted to ask one question first. We’re thinking April 10<sup>th</sup> next year as the date. We know the weather is never really great in April but the last thing I want to be is a ridiculously cold bride or a ridiculously hot bride. What do you think?”</p><p>Sylvie stared at Stella for a moment before she suddenly burst into tears.</p><p>Stella's eyes widened, totally alarmed by her friend's reaction, “Wow, it’s ok, it’s ok, it’s just a date! I mean I didn’t realise dates could invoke that kind of emotion, but if you think it’s a bad date it can be changed!” Stella said quickly as Sylvie stood up and faced her friend.</p><p>She shook her head, “No, it’s a wonderful date. Really wonderful.” She said through her tears as Stella quickly rubbed her arms.</p><p>“Are these happy tears then?” she asked cautiously, but they really did <em>not</em> look like happy tears.</p><p>“Yes, they’re happy tears but also that’s – that’s my due date.” She said in a whisper as she tried to get her tears under control, but the flood gates had been opened and all the emotions she had been holding in since she left the hospital came pouring out.</p><p>“Due date?” Stella asked, feeling even more confused than she already was.</p><p>“And I don’t want your day to be ruined by my water’s breaking mid-ceremony!” Sylvie exclaimed.</p><p>Stella’s face immediately softened as she let out a little gasp and her hand flung up to her chest, finally understanding Sylvie’s words.</p><p>“Brett… are you pregnant?” she asked quietly as Sylvie took in a deep breath and nodded her head. “Oh my god Brett, come here!” she said with a bright smile as she pulled her friend into a tight hug. “No wonder you haven’t been able to keep anything down.” She said with a little laugh that Sylvie returned.</p><p>“I uh – I just found out at Med and my emotions are all over the place and Matt’s not even here so I can’t tell him and I just – it’s been a<em> day</em>.” She said as she finally got her breathing under control, pulling back from Stella’s hug.</p><p>“A day and a <em>half.”</em> Stella agreed as she wiped a stray tear from Sylvie’s cheek. “Casey is going to <em>freak.</em>” She said with a smile. Casey had wanted to be a father for the longest time, everybody knew that. Any chance he had in the past had been cruelly ripped away from him – but not anymore. This was actually happening.</p><p>Sylvie laughed, “I know.”</p><p>“And let me tell you this now – Severide and I are going to spoil that kid rotten. Best aunt and uncle Chicago if not the world has ever seen.” She boasted proudly.</p><p>Sylvie smiled gratefully as she felt her eyes well up again. This baby was already so loved, and it was the most wonderful thing.</p><p>“They are already one lucky baby” Sylvie said with a little laugh.</p><p>Stella squeezed Sylvie’s hand, “And especially lucky to have you two as parents.”</p>
<hr/><p>After hiding any evidence of her tears, Sylvie made her way into the lounge in the hopes of eating something that she could actually keep in her stomach. As she walked in, Cruz jumped from his seat at the table and pulled out the one beside him.</p><p>“Hey Brett, take a seat” he said with a bright smile as Sylvie slowly walked towards the table and sat down opposite Mackey who had her nose in a book.</p><p>“Thanks Joe… you ok?” she asked, wondering what all the concern was about.</p><p>“Oh, you just took a pretty nasty fall today, probably best to stay off your feet.” He reasoned.</p><p>“… right.” She confirmed as Gallo and Ritter walked over to her with a couple of plates of food.</p><p>“Hey Brett, we’ve got some pasta and some bread here for you.” Ritter said as they placed the food in front of her.</p><p>“We heard that you should eat small portions of carbohydrates to combat morning sickness. Or all day sickness I guess” Gallo said, completely sticking her foot in it.</p><p>Sylvie raised a brow, “morning sickness?” she asked as Gallo’s face and he desperately looked at Ritter, who simply held up his hands and walked away. He was in this mess on his own.</p><p>Gallo them looked at Mackey who buried her head further into her book. Sylvie suddenly remembered Mackey’s comment earlier at Med and she leaned across the table.</p><p>“What do you know Mackey?” she asked quietly as Mackey lifted her eyes.</p><p>“I know nothing… I may have speculated by <em>accident</em>… but officially I know nothing.” Mackey said as she shoved her head back into her book. It appeared that her gossiping circle she had with Ritter and Gallo was coming back to bite her.</p><p>Sylvie looked at everybody in the room. Joe being protective, Mackey being cryptic, Gallo completely outing himself and Ritter, and Hermann – well Hermann was just staring anxiously at her. How the <em>hell </em>did they know?!</p><p>Sylvie stood slowly from her chair. As she was about to speak, the doors into the lounge opened and Matt and Boden appeared. Matt smiled gratefully as soon as he saw Sylvie.</p><p>“Hey, you’re back. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to see you, Boden and I had to go to this monotonous procedural meeting.” Matt said with a sigh as he looked at her stitches. “Everyone go ok?”</p><p>“Actually—” Sylvie began, but she was interrupted again when the doors opened and Cindy Hermann appeared with at least six shopping bags in hand.</p><p>“Oh, there you are!” she said excitedly as Matt quickly took the shopping bags from her and set them on the table. “I couldn’t contain my excitement when Christopher told me your news, I just <em>had</em> to go digging through our attic for some things that really helped me during the early stages.” She said to Sylvie who smiled awkwardly as she looked between Cindy and Matt.</p><p>“Early stages of what?” Matt asked as he peered into Cindy’s bags, but was still none the wiser.</p><p>“Honey—” Hermann began as he realised that Casey had no idea about Brett’s news.</p><p>Cindy ignored Matt and Hermann and turned back to Sylvie, “You’ll probably feel nauseous for the next little while and these are the secret to a calm stomach.” She said as she lifted out an ice-pop tray. “Lemonade and ginger ice-pops. I give them to my kids when they’re sick so I had some left over that you can take now. I’ve also included the recipe in there. They will cure that pregnancy sickness in a heartbeat!”</p><p>Everyone remained silent at Cindy’s words, while Sylvie’s eyes remained firmly planted on Matt, waiting for his reaction. This was so <em>not</em> how she wanted him to find out. She didn’t want him to be mad that apparently everybody else knew before him.</p><p>His eyes were wide as he blinked a few times at Cindy before he slowly turned around and looked at Sylvie. She could practically see the wires connecting in Matt’s head. Cindy was speaking at a rapid pace, but the message was clear.</p><p>“You’re pregnant?” he asked quietly as Sylvie gulped.</p><p>“Let’s give Brett and Casey some space…” Stella said as she ushered everyone out of the lounge.</p><p>Hermann was the last to walk past them, stopping momentarily and handing Brett her sonogram.</p><p>“You dropped this earlier…” he said sheepishly before walking away, leaving Sylvie and Matt alone. That explained how Hermann and Cindy found out.</p><p>“I uh – I got some blood tests to make sure everything was ok and uh – everything is fine. It’s<em> more</em> than fine.” Sylvie said with a little laugh as Matt’s face lit up further with each passing second. “But they did find something. Something the size of a blueberry to be exact” she said as she handed him the sonogram. He took it from her and his eyes immediately clouded with tears.</p><p>“I know this wasn’t planned” Sylvie began as she took a step towards him. “And normally when things deviate from my plans, I panic but – I just feel an overwhelming sense of peace Matt. We’re having a <em>baby</em> and it’s – it’s <em>amazing</em>.” She said, her own vision becoming blurred at the thought of starting a family with the person she loved most in this world.</p><p>Matt looked up from the sonogram, his stare piercing through Sylvie’s. It was so soft and so warm, and Sylvie could feel his love through it. He set the sonogram down and closed the gap between them. He reached his hands up and cupped her cheeks, his thumbs running delicately across her cheekbones. His heart was beating rapidly against his chest as he took in every inch of her. His love for her was so consuming and he now got to share it with their baby.</p><p>“We’re having a baby…” Matt said quietly, recognising that he hadn’t even acknowledged what was going on. He leaned forward and smiled against her cheek before kissing it delicately. “I love you. So much. We’re going to be parents.”</p><p>Sylvie beamed, “Yeah. We’re going to be parents.”</p><p>Matt leaned forward and crushed her into the hug he’d been dying to give her all day. He felt so safe and secure when he held her. He felt like he’d finally found his place in this world and it was right by her side.</p><p>“I’m so sorry everybody knew before you—” Sylvie began to apologise as Matt’s chuckles radiated through her.</p><p>“It seems kind of fitting that the whole of 51 would find out before me.” He replied. He really wasn’t mad about it. How could he be when his happiness at being a father was so consuming?</p><p>Sylvie pulled back from the hug, but kept her arms wrapped firmly around him. As usual, he was the only thing keeping her nausea at bay.</p><p>“We’re in for one hell of a ride Captain.” She said with a joking sigh.</p><p>Matt smiled down at her, his fingers running affectionately over the front strands of her hair. “Oh yeah. But our baby is damn lucky to have you – and so am I. We’ve got this Sylvie Brett. We’ve got this because we’ll take it on together – always.”</p><p>Sylvie smiled and nodded, <em>“Always.”</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Welcome to 51</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Picking a baby name for a story is HARD! </p><p>But nevertheless - this was fun to write. Time to fast forward 7 months later... I hope you enjoy the second and final part of this story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Welcome to 51</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>Sylvie stood by one of the reception tables at Stella and Severide’s wedding venue, carefully positioning the mint green and lilac floral arrangements in the middle of the table. She’d spent the entire morning and afternoon making sure that everything was perfect for the big day tomorrow, right down to ensuring the cutlery was perfectly aligned on the table.</p><p>At their wedding planning dinner 7 months ago, Stella and Severide had told Sylvie that they wanted something sweet and understated. They weren’t flashy people, and they didn’t want their wedding to be any different. When Sylvie started talking about colour schemes and table arrangements, however, Severide completely backed out of the conversation and Stella <em>gladly</em> let Sylvie run with it. She said she liked purple in weddings and Sylvie’s response?</p><p>
  <em>“Say no more.” </em>
</p><p>Stella had smirked to herself. She was more than happy to let Sylvie be their unofficial wedding planner. Sylvie thrived over this stuff and Stella had a lot going on workwise – they were really doing each other a favour.</p><p>Sylvie was grateful for the project. Once the excitement of her pregnancy simmered, the reality of it set in. While she and Matt were totally overjoyed about starting a family together, Sylvie wasn’t so thrilled about not being able to work on 61 for a little while. She put it off going on maternity leave for as long as possible. She even put off <em>talking</em> about it for as long as possible. It was only when she hit 5 months, she realised that it was time. She’d woken up the morning of what would be her final shift and she could no longer button her work trousers over her bump, and she had to get Matt to tie her laces. All it took was one amused eyebrow raise from Matt to make her realise that she’d fought it for long enough.</p><p>While she wasn’t riding on 61, she still taught some classes at the academy and checked in with Mackey regularly as the PICs who took her place hadn’t been regular fixtures. So while she was grateful she could still continue to work in some capacity, she was <em>especially</em> grateful for this wedding. She needed a project and this was perfect.</p><p>The organisation. The planning. The <em>spreadsheets</em>.</p><p>She was in her element. She wondered multiple times if she should start a side business as a wedding planner.</p><p>One thing that Stella and Severide had wanted to change was the date of their nuptials. After Sylvie’s teary confession to Stella about her waters potentially breaking during the day, Stella insisted that they push the wedding a little later – but Sylvie refused. No matter her personal circumstances, she always managed to put others first, and this would be no different. Stella and Severide would have their day when they wanted their day. There were no arguments about it to be had.</p><p>People never really gave birth on their due dates anyway – <em>right?</em></p><p>So here she was, her 9-month baby bump clearly visible under her floral smock dress as she made the final touches to the reception hall – and she felt totally fine. Not even a twinge. She’d had a fairly easy pregnancy. Her initial sickness passed after a few weeks and she’d taken the rest of it in her stride.</p><p>The only time she was really uncomfortable was when she was sleeping. Cindy Hermann had given her a pregnancy pillow that really helped, but there wasn’t much she could do about how <em>warm</em> she got – even in the dead of winter. She cranked the A.C. up – while Matt lay beside her with 5 layers on and not one word of complaint about it – but it didn’t really help. She’d just accepted the discomfort now, knowing it would be over soon (when she hit the 8 month mark, she made a mental note that as soon as they saw Stella and Severide off on their honeymoon, she was doing whatever she could to get this baby<em> out</em>).</p><p>While Sylvie had loved watching her body change as it grew a tiny human, she loved how much Matt loved it even more. He’d always looked at her like she hung the stars and the moon, but the way he looked at her now? It made her <em>melt</em>.</p><p>Around the 4-month mark, Matt had caught her looking at her bump in the mirror. She looked totally mesmerised by it. It was finally starting to look like a bump and not just bloating – there really was a baby in there and it was so freaking awesome. He’d watched her reflection in the mirror from their bedroom door. He fell in love with all over again in that moment.</p><p>After watching her for a few moments, he’d interrupted her and said:</p><p>
  <em>“I’d heard the pregnancy glow was a thing but you – you’re so radiant. I didn’t realise it would make me love you even more than I already do.” </em>
</p><p>And she fell in love with him all over again in that moment too.</p><p>There was also the fact that every Friday morning while Sylvie brushed her teeth, Matt whipped out a baby book and enthusiastically told her everything that was happening with their baby right now.</p><p>
  <em>“Your baby at 22 weeks is the size of a red bell pepper. They can tell light from dark, their ears are beginning to hear and process sounds from inside your body and they’re learning to grab… wow. That’s amazing.”  </em>
</p><p>It never failed to make Sylvie smile. It was the best way to start her Fridays. That same night he refused to cut up the red bell pepper they were having with their dinner. This was their baby they were talking about, there was no way!</p><p>Alongside his enthusiasm, Matt also had a streak of worry for Sylvie and their baby. He knew what it was like to lose a child and he couldn’t experience that again. More than anything, he couldn’t have <em>Sylvie</em> experience that. It might well and truly break him. He knew she was more than capable of looking after herself and he proudly watched her as she thrived throughout her pregnancy, but he was always cautious and protective over her and what she was doing – which was why when he arrived at the reception venue that afternoon to pick Sylvie up, his immediate thought was to get her a chair and make her sit down. She’d no doubt spent way too much time on her feet, her back must have been killing her.</p><p>Sylvie caught Matt in her peripheral vision, her head shooting round, the grin beaming off her face.</p><p>“What do you think?!” she asked excitedly and expectantly as she motioned around the room.</p><p>Matt grinned back at her. The venue looked good but her joy over it looked even better. “It looks amazing, they’re going to love it.” He said as he finally reached her and lightly kissed her.</p><p>“God, I hope so. I mean, Stella was consulted at every stage but she didn’t want to see the final result and I really hope it isn’t a let-down—” Sylvie rambled, so much so that she didn’t even notice Matt had pulled over a chair and gently guided her into it.</p><p>“It won’t be a let-down. I really don’t have an eye for this stuff, but even I can tell it’s pretty spectacular. You did good.” He insisted as he sat opposite her and affectionately kissed her hand before letting them fall into his lap.</p><p>Sylvie smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you… did you pick up the tuxes and rings?”</p><p>“Yeah, they’re in the truck.” He confirmed.</p><p>“Ok… I think we’re good to go then?” she said, more as a question than anything.</p><p>Matt chuckled, “We sure are. How are you feeling? Any pain?” he asked. Their obstetrician had told them that Sylvie would likely start feeling contractions a little while before she actually gave birth, but so far there hadn’t been anything.</p><p>“Nope. This baby is far too comfortable in here.” Sylvie said with a sigh and a little giggle. Sylvie suddenly fell silent as Matt noticed her gulp. Something was flashing across her mind and the worry was clearly written across her face.</p><p>He frowned, “What’s wrong?”</p><p>Sylvie quirked a brow, “You’ve always been far too good at reading me…” she deflected.</p><p>“I learnt from the best” he replied as he comfortingly rubbed his thumb over her hand. “You look worried.”</p><p>“I haven’t really stopped doing stuff over the past 7 months. There’s always something to keep my mind occupied. Work, the baby’s room, the wedding – but now… the wedding is almost over and the next thing on my to do list is have a baby.” She said, processing the reality of it all. “I don’t know why the reality of that is only sinking in now, I’ve had months to prepare for it and we <em>have</em> prepared for it, we have everything we could need but – we’re having a <em>baby</em>, Matt.” She said in almost a whisper. “A little human that is going to be reliant on you and me to keep them alive and to love them and to just not screw them up – what if we screw up our kid?!”</p><p>Matt blinked a few times as he took her outburst in. It appeared that the wedding and work had been total distractions to the reality of parenthood for her. He knew she’d read some parenting books, but maybe they weren’t so good at preparing you for the emotional impact of getting ready to give birth. Maybe nothing could really prepare you for that.</p><p>“Sylvie, there’s no such thing as a perfect parent – but there are a thousand ways to be a really good one.” He began as the corner of his mouth quirked up. “We’re not always going to get it right, but we won’t screw up our kid. I feel your love every day and so will our baby. If you love our baby even half as much as I know you love me, then they’ll be pretty damn lucky. We’re going to be there through the tantrums and the tears, the sleepless nights, the toothless grins and the giggles and the sloppy kisses – and it will be the best thing we ever do.”</p><p>“I love you” Sylvie said in a whisper. She felt there wasn’t really much else she could say in that moment – he’d said it all perfectly <em>for </em>her and he was <em>right</em>. They weren’t always going to get this right, but their baby would never be lacking in love and they would take on any challenges together.</p><p>Matt leaned forward, resting his hand on her cheek as he delicately kissed the corner of her mouth. Sylvie closed her eyes, the tension leaving her body at his tender and loving touch. It was amazing how the smallest, softest touch from him could instantly ground her.</p><p>After a few moments he pulled back from her and stood up, taking her hands in his and gently pulling her off the seat.</p><p>“Let’s get you home, you deserve a bubble bath and a foot rub.” He said as Sylvie grinned.</p><p>“That sounds amazing.” She replied as she wrapped an arm around his waist and started walking towards the door.</p><hr/><p>Sylvie rushed into the back room of the venue the following morning. Everyone was ready to go, the venue looked great, Stella looked<em> stunning</em> and all that was left to do was get her down the aisle.</p><p>“Ok” Sylvie said as she let out a breath.</p><p>Stella’s head flung around, and her eyes immediately widened, “What was that?”</p><p>Sylvie frowned, “What was what?”</p><p>“That <em>sigh</em>, was that a ‘I’m breathing through a contraction’ sigh?!” she frantically asked as she walked over to her friend and looked down at her bump that was neatly protruding over her specially made lilac bridesmaid’s dress.</p><p>“No, Stella” Sylvie said with a little laugh. “That was a ‘everything is in order’ sigh’” she explained as Stella grabbed her hand and squeezed it.</p><p>“You sure?”</p><p>“Stella, the next 18 years are going to be about this kid, so they do <em>not</em> get to have today. Today is <em>your</em> day.” Sylvie insisted as she squeezed her best friend’s hand right back. The last thing Sylvie wanted was for today to be turned into a baby watch. She felt fine, the baby was fine, there was no need to be in panic mode. Stella and Severide deserved their special day and nothing was going to get in the way of that. Not on Sylvie’s wedding-planner watch.</p><p>“Ok, but the <em>moment </em>that little girl is ready to make an appearance you tell me – there’s no way that I’m missing it, middle of my vows or not.” Stella insisted.</p><p>Sylvie smirked, “Little girl?” she questioned. She and Matt had decided not to find out what they were having – and it drove everybody at 51 a little crazy. They were placing all kinds of bets on what it would be.</p><p>“It’s for sure a girl.” Stella said with such certainty in her voice.</p><p>Sylvie shook her head, “No way, Matt’s a boy dad.” The Darden boys, Louie – Sylvie was convinced that streak wasn’t going to change now. Matt Casey was a boy dad through and through – and a damn good one too.</p><p>“but <em>you</em> are a girl mom.” Stella reasoned.</p><p>Sylvie shot her an amused stare, “Based on what?”</p><p>“<em>Intuition</em>. It’s a girl.”</p><p>Sylvie merely chuckled and shook her head. Before she could say anything, Boden appeared at the door, smiling immediately when he saw Stella. Since Stella’s parents had passed away, Boden immediately stepped in as a surrogate father. In many ways, he was more of a father that Stella’s own father had ever been. There was no one else she would rather have walking with her as she married the love of her life.</p><p>“You are a very beautiful bride Stella Kidd.” He told her as Stella smiled and took a deep breath.</p><p>“This is really happening, huh?” she asked.</p><p>Sylvie beamed brightly. Yes, it was happening, and the excitement and love were already radiating through the day. “Come on, let’s get you married.” Sylvie said as Stella looped her arm through Boden’s and walked out the door.</p><p>Sylvie waited until everybody in the wedding party was out of the room before reaching down and lifting her bouquet of flowers. As she began moving away, she saw an arm reach out for her to loop her hand through.</p><p>“You looked like you were about to topple over with that bump” a familiar voice joked as Sylvie stood up straight and met Matt’s smirk.</p><p>Sylvie rolled her eyes and gently slapped his arm. “Funny…”</p><p>“I was about to say are you ready to walk down the aisle, but I feel like it’s more of a <em>waddle </em>for you at this stage…”</p><p>“Oh my<em> god</em>, you are on a roll today, huh?” she said as Matt laughed proudly at himself.</p><p>“Come on, you’ve gotta give me that one.” He reasoned.</p><p>“Only because you are absolutely right.” She conceded with a sigh. It may have been a joke, but it was entirely <em>true.</em> The baby was sitting low and Sylvie’s joints had loosened enough that she waddled a little bit.</p><p>Sylvie watched as Matt’s brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, but Sylvie immediately raised a hand to stop him, “Do not ask me if I am ok.” She warned.</p><p>Matt’s eyes widened and he held his hands up, “I wouldn’t dream of it… I was just going to say you look really beautiful.” He said with a charming smile as he took a step towards her. Sylvie turned her head away, trying to mask her own smile. <em>Charming asshole</em>. Making fun of her then pandering to her. “I think lilac is your colour.” He added as he kissed her cheek.</p><p>“Nice save…” she mumbled as she looped her arm through hers and pulled him towards the door. “We’re going to be late, come on, tight schedule.”</p><p>“Yes ma’am…”</p><hr/><p>The ceremony went off without a hitch. There was an abundance of smiles, tears and love in the room (most of the tears coming from Sylvie of course – pregnancy hormones and Stella and Severide’s vows were not a great mix).</p><p>Sylvie also felt like she had an abundance of <em>energy</em>. She was constantly moving around the room, talking with her friends, making sure everything was in place, speaking with the caterers and venue staff. She showed no signs of slowing down – right until the first dance of course.</p><p>The moment the evening started winding down was the moment Sylvie’s discomfort kicked in. She’d instructed Gallo to go the front and introduce the first dance and as soon as the words left his mouth – <em>twinge.</em></p><p>This baby had excellent timing.</p><p>She sat down on the edge of the dance floor and watched Stella and Severide be totally wrapped up in each other, like there was nothing else in this world but them. She knew exactly how that felt. She looked across the dance floor and met her favourite set of piercing blue eyes. She knew she would never get tired of looking into his eyes.</p><p>The rest of the wedding party began to join the dancing and Matt nodded towards the dance floor as a way of asking if she wanted to dance. Matt hated dancing, but he knew she loved it. She lightly nodded her head as she stood from her seat and walked towards him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, her other hand landing in his hand as they rested their cheeks against each other’s.</p><p>As Sylvie felt another twinge in her stomach, her heart also skipped a beat. <em>This was it.</em> This was the last moment they would have when it was just the two of them. Nervous excitement raced through her bones as she tightened her hold across his shoulders. The moment this song was over, she knew they were going to have to go and meet their new, beautiful reality – so she wanted to savour this moment before their worlds changed.</p><p>It was as if Sylvie’s emotions radiated straight through Matt. He strengthened his hold around her waist too, holding her as close as her bump would allow. Her nerves were becoming <em>his</em> nerves as parenthood approached them.</p><p>
  <em>“I love you” </em>
</p><p>He whispered quietly in her ear. He didn’t need to say anything else. She’d known the weight of the meaning behind Matt’s words from the first time he said them to her.</p><p><em>I love you. I’m with you. Always</em>.</p><p><em>“I love you too” </em>she whispered back as she bit her lip to stop it from quivering.</p><p>As the song came to an end, Matt stepped back slightly and looked to the floor.</p><p>“Somebody’s spilled their drink, we should mop this up before someone slips—”</p><p>“It’s me.” Sylvie merely replied.</p><p>“You don’t have a drink—OH.” He said quickly as he clocked on, seeing the alarm that was covering Sylvie’s face. Her water just broke. Right on the dance floor. Right as the song ended. “Kid’s got great timing.” Matt joked as Sylvie felt some of the tension leave her body.</p><p>“Yeah. We gotta go.” She said as she waddled towards Stella and Severide. “Hey” she greeted as cheerily as she could before grabbing their hands. “This day has been <em>so</em> beautiful, and it has been so amazing celebrating you two—” she began.</p><p>“Oh honey, thank you for all of this!” Stella said happily. “You did the most amazing job, I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough.”</p><p>Sylvie shook her head, “There’s no need. Really. But uh – we gotta go now.”</p><p>Severide nodded, “Yeah, I’m about ready to head out with my <em>wife</em>” he said, emphasising the word wife like it was the best word he’d ever heard. “I think we’re due some alone time…”</p><p>Stella looked over Sylvie’s shoulder and saw one of the venue staff arrive on the dance floor with a mop. “Did someone spill something?” she asked.</p><p>“Me. Well – sort of, that’s uh – that’s my waters.” She said with nervous giggle as Matt appeared at her side with their belongings.</p><p>Stella’s mouth fell open and she gasped slightly, “Oh you <em>really</em> gotta go!” she said, finally understanding why Sylvie looked so desperate to leave. “<em>We</em> gotta go!”</p><p>“No!” Sylvie insisted. “I told you this morning that this was <em>your</em> day, nobody else’s—”</p><p>“And I told you that there is no way in hell I am missing this. Brett, we’ve spent all day celebrating us, I’m <em>tired</em> of celebrating us!” she said with a laugh. “We’ve got a new little smoke eater to meet.”</p><p>Sylvie’s eyes watered as she nodded her head, “Ok – cause these contractions are hitting me fast, I really need some drugs.” She said as she tried to fight her tears.</p><p>Matt quickly reached forward and wrapped her arm around Sylvie’s waist, guiding her towards the door. As the moved, Sylvie maintained a tight grip on Severide’s hand, dragging him along with them. She really needed something to squeeze right now.</p><p>Soon enough the rest of 51 clocked on to the fact that Sylvie was clearly in labour. They all jumped from their tables and announced they would see them at the hospital. Matt was about to protest and tell them it could be a while before their baby made an appearance – but they didn’t care. 51 always showed up for family.</p><hr/><p>Bliss. Total and utter baby bliss. Her cries had been like music to her parent’s ears the moment she was born. It was like Sylvie’s whole heart was lying on her chest when the nurse set her there.</p><p>Born at 7am, weighing 7lbs 8oz and measuring 50cm long, Charlotte Elizabeth Casey had completely stolen her parents’ hearts. Any fears they had completely subsided when they saw her bright blue eyes, her long curly eyelashes and her pouty pink lips.</p><p>When the nurses took her away to get her cleaned up, Matt was so overcome with love for Sylvie and his daughter that he almost didn’t know what to do with himself. It had been a whirlwind of emotions for them both throughout this process. Matt hated seeing her in so much pain and discomfort but the pride he felt knowing that he got to call Sylvie <em>his</em> was greater. Her strength was incredible, and she had the most perfect prize at the end of it all.</p><p><em>“Matt, go make sure she’s ok”</em> Sylvie said almost as soon as Charlotte was taken off her chest. Matt wordlessly nodded as he hovered behind the nurses. He was frantically looking back and forth between the two of them, and it was the push he needed to just watch over their daughter for the next few minutes.</p><p>When Charlotte’s cries started to subside, Matt’s chaotic movements and breathing did too. He looked back at Sylvie and saw that she was resting her head back on her pillow and had the smallest smile on her face. God did he love her. It was the most chaotic yet <em>peaceful </em>moment of their lives and he couldn’t quite believe he got to experience it with her.</p><p>Charlotte was suddenly placed in his arms by the nurses and he quickly looked down at the little girl in his arms. His eyes filled with tears as he just took her and all of her tiny little features in.</p><p>“Is she ok?” Sylvie asked as Matt looked up at her.</p><p>“She’s so perfect Sylvie. Just so perfect.” He replied with a little laugh as he walked back to the bed and placed Charlotte in her arms.</p><p>“Hi baby, hi Charlotte… we made her.” Sylvie said in a moment of disbelief as she stared down at her baby. She didn’t realise anything could be so perfectly pure like this. She looked up at Matt and saw that the tears were still in his eyes as he gazed down at their daughter. She smiled to herself. From that gaze alone she knew he would be the best girl dad after all.</p><p>Matt finally caught her stare and returned her smile, running his thumb over her flushed cheek. “What is it?” he asked quietly.</p><p>“Just realising I’m going to have to share that look on your face with another girl now…” she joked, causing Matt to let out a breathy laugh.</p><p>“I have plenty of this stare to go around” he said with a wink. “My girls… that sounds amazing to say.”</p><p>Sylvie had never seen Matt hold such wonder in his eyes. He’d wanted this for a long time, and it was just as amazing as he’d imagined it to be. They both had the family they’d always dreamed of having. They both wanted to bottle this moment so they could replay it over and over again.</p><p>“It feels pretty good to hear it.” Sylvie replied as Matt kissed her head before they turned their attention back to Charlotte as she yawned in Sylvie’s arms and stretched her little hands out.</p><p>A short while later, the nurses came in to check on Sylvie and Charlotte. Sylvie didn’t have to be told twice when they suggested she get some rest – because she won’t be getting much of it in the months to come.</p><p>While she took a nap, Matt took the opportunity to introduce Charlotte to her family at 51. He carried her out into the hallway and smiled when he saw his friends sitting in the waiting room – still in their wedding attire. They didn’t even look tired despite having sat here all night. The nurses probably thought they were crazy.</p><p>Stella was the first to spot Matt as she gasped and shot up in her chair, walking towards him, her eyes firmly glued on the baby in his arms.</p><p>“It looks like the only person who will be reaping the rewards from your baby gender bet is Stella – because I am one proud girl dad right now.” Matt announced as everybody crowded around to get a peak at the baby in his arms.</p><p>“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a prettier baby…” Gallo commented, kind of in awe that a baby could look like that – in his mind they always looked a little crinkly in the beginning.</p><p>“Look at those eyelashes!” Mackey said with a little squeal. “She is Brett through and through.”</p><p>“Thank God…” Matt mumbled as everybody laughed lightly.</p><p>“How is Brett?” Cruz asked keenly.</p><p>“She’s amazing. She was incredible, a total rock.” Matt boasted on her behalf.</p><p>“Does this little lady have a name?” Hermann asked with an eager to know Cindy by his side – she was already preparing for all the knitting she was going to do, but she needed a name because of course <em>everything</em> had to be personalised.</p><p>Matt nodded, “51, meet Charlotte Elizabeth Casey – Charlotte, meet you family.”</p><p>“A very pretty name for a very pretty baby.” Stella said as she hooked her index finger under Charlotte’s little hand. “And the best wedding present <em>ever.”</em> She added. She couldn’t <em>wait</em> to spoil this little girl rotten.</p><p>“Charlotte Casey” Boden said with a nod of Chief-like approval. “Welcome to 51.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Two Caseys and a Brett</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inspiration for a third chapter of this story struck me tonight... I hope you enjoy this chapter!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Two Caseys and a Brett</strong> </span>
</p><p><em>“</em> <em>Up like a…?”</em></p><p>
  <em>“Rocket!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Down like the…?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Rain!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Back and forth like a…?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Choo choo train!”</em>
</p><p>“Good job baby” Matt praised as he kissed his daughter’s messy blonde hair, his arm wrapped around her little waist as she stood on the bathroom counter, brushing her teeth along with her dad.</p><p>A few weeks ago, Matt and Sylvie had seriously struggled to get their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to brush her teeth. Somehow, the little pink brush always ended up being flung across the bathroom in protest. It wasn’t until they turned it into a rhyme for her to proudly chant along to that she started to see the ‘fun’ in brushing her teeth. She also insisted on doing it with either Matt or Sylvie, because she wanted to be like the<em> grown-ups.</em></p><p>Charlie Casey was already a force to be reckoned with and her parents couldn’t love her more. They knew from the moment she looked up at them with her bright blue eyes that were identical to Sylvie’s that they would be putty in her hands.</p><p>She was a real talker and insisted on babbling to anyone who would listen, especially when she’d just learnt some new words that she wanted to show off. She loved to sing, especially with Sylvie, she loved to read books in father’s lap, she loved to dance around the kitchen with her mother while she made lunch or dinner, and any time she visited Firehouse 51, she couldn’t leave until she’d had a chance to sit in the fire truck. Sylvie and Matt had taken countless snaps of her in the large red chair from when she was a little baby till now.</p><p>Charlie also revelled in the love she received from the people of Firehouse 51. She <em>adored </em>her Uncle Severide, or ‘Sevie’ as Charlie affectionately called him, and their favourite activity was to make funny faces at each other in the mirror before Severide flew her around the room like a superhero. She loved sitting down on the sofa with Mouch to watch cartoons, she loved sitting at the table with Stella for some ‘girl talk’ and Gallo and Ritter were always on hand to chase her around the apron (with the help of Tuesday of course. Charlie had fallen asleep on the couch with Tuesday snuggled up to her more times than they could count.)</p><p>Without a doubt, Matt and Sylvie’s favourite thing about their daughter was that she gave the sweetest little hugs. Their hearts had never been open than they were to this little human they had made. She was boisterous and sassy, yet so sweet and loving and they could barely remember a life without her. Life was good for the Caseys – well, two Caseys and a <em>Brett</em>.</p><p>Sylvie walked down the hall after hearing Matt and Charlie start their tooth brushing rhyme. She stood in the door frame and smiled, watching them as they brushed their teeth together.</p><p>“Ok, teeth inspection” Matt said as Charlie lowered her brushed and bit her little teeth together, inspecting them in the mirror. “Dazzling white – good job” Matt said as they rhythmically spat their toothpaste into the sink and wiped their mouths.</p><p>“That was some good brushing” Sylvie complimented as Charlie turned around and grinned at her mom, deliberately showing off her teeth.</p><p>Matt scooped Charlie off the counter and held her under his arm, “My baby’s a <em>pro</em>” he boasted as Charlie giggled at his antics.</p><p>“A pro who needs to get dressed so she can go to the hardware store with daddy.” Sylvie said as she leaned down and peppered kisses on Charlie’s cheek, causing her to laugh more.</p><p>“I go pick a outfit!” she said as she squirmed out of Matt’s arms and ran as fast as her little legs would take her to her room.</p><p>Sylvie smiled at Matt, “Thanks for taking her with you, it will allow me to get a whole pile of laundry away.” She said gratefully as she wrapped her arms around his waist. She hadn’t been feeling all that great today, but being held by him instantly made her feel better.</p><p>Matt quickly kissed her, his own hands rounding across her back, holding her as close to him as he could, “It’s no problem. Besides, it’s about time Charlie learns about construction, she knows enough about firefighting.” He joked. There were a couple of jobs Matt needed to do around the house – including fixing a wooden slat under Charlie’s bed that she managed to break after jumping on her bed – and he needed to pick up a few things to do so.</p><p>Sylvie laughed, “Start em young huh?”</p><p>“Oh yeah. She broke the bed, she can fix it.” He said with a nod as Sylvie continued to laugh. “By the way, Violet said she’s free to babysit tonight if you wanted to have a date night?” He suggested hopefully.</p><p>“Oo, we don’t get many of those.” Sylvie said as she quirked a brow.</p><p>“I know, which is why we should jump at the chance to have one now.” He reasoned.</p><p>“Say no more, I’m in.” Sylvie agreed happily. She could do with a nice meal out with her boyfriend… <em>boyfriend</em>. God, that felt juvenile to say, but that’s what he was. Her <em>boyfriend</em>.</p><p>Before Sylvie could squirm at the word boyfriend anymore, there was a light thump before a little voice called down the hall,</p><p>“Momma! Dadddd! I stuck in my trouser…” Charlie called sheepishly.</p><p>Matt and Sylvie bit back a laugh at the thought of Charlie toppling over after trying to pull her trousers on.</p><p>“I got it…” Matt said as he grinned against Sylvie temple before placing a light kiss on it.</p><p>While Matt went to rescue Charlie, Sylvie made her way into their bedroom to put away some laundry. She opened Matt’s sock and underwear drawer and immediately frowned at how disorganised it was. When it was Matt’s turn to put away the laundry, he always just chucked his odd socks straight in there without <em>trying</em> to find the pair.</p><p>Sylvie sighed and lifted out the spare socks to sort them. She went to throw them onto the bed but stopped and did a double take when she spotted something unexpected lying at the bottom of the drawer. Her eyes widened and she dropped all the socks at her feet.</p><p>She reached into the drawer and lifted out a small, square, black velvet box.</p><p><em>Holy crap. </em>Was this what she thought it was?</p><p>She moved to open it, but suddenly stopped herself and dropped the box back into the drawer, her hands coming up to her chest quickly like it had just burned her. Of <em>course</em> the universe would screw with her about a potential engagement ring hiding in Matt’s drawer, immediately after she was squirming at calling Matt her boyfriend.</p><p>She was also keenly aware that if it <em>was</em> an engagement ring, it wasn’t something she was supposed to find. But would Matt really be that cliché – and also <em>idiotic</em> – to hide it in a drawer that Sylvie was in at least once a week?</p><p>“Sylvie” Matt called as he came into the room with a now dressed Charlie in his arms. Sylvie quickly closed the drawer and awkwardly leaned her elbow on the dresser. “We’re going to head… out…” He said, slowing his sentence as he looked between Sylvie and the pile of socks at her feet. “… you ok?”</p><p>“Me? Yeah, yeah, totally fine.” She said awkwardly. “You uh – you were heading out?”</p><p>“Yeah…” he said cautiously. “Do you uh – do you need anything?” he said as he tried to piece together what had made her look like a deer caught in headlights – but he had nothing. Maybe he just startled her.</p><p>“No, all good.” She said as she walked towards them, “But you can brush this little lady’s hair, or she won’t be able to see.” She said as she pushed Charlie's tangled blonde curls out of her face.</p><p>“Daddy can you do the braids?” Charlie asked.</p><p>“Of course I can” he said. A few months back, Charlie had asked Matt to do her hair when Sylvie was out, and when Matt couldn’t do the braid she wanted, he was determined to learn how so he wouldn’t have to disappoint her again. Sylvie taught him and let him use her hair to practice, and now he was a pro. He was especially proud of his braids given Charlie’s curls and the detangling that was required in the process.</p><p>“Bye mommy!” Charlie called as she and Matt left the room, before sure to blow her mom a kiss as she went.</p><p>“Bye, have fun!” she called, blowing a kiss back at her daughter, before she groaned and rested her head against the door frame.</p><p>Sylvie tried to keep herself busy by putting away more laundry, but it wasn’t much use. She waited until she heard the front door close and then she rushed to her bedside cabinet to lift her phone, dialling a familiar number.</p><p>“Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up…”</p><p>“Hey girl”</p><p>“Stella! I uh – I found something.” She said cryptically as she paced the room.</p><p>“Ok… what did you find?” Stella asked as Sylvie moved back to the dresser and pulled open the drawer.</p><p>“I found a small, square, black, velvet box in Matt’s drawer…” she explained as Stella gasped down the line.</p><p>“You don’t think—?”</p><p>“Oh, I’m thinking.” Sylvie said with an awkward laugh as she gulped down at the box. She then gasped in realisation as her hand came to her mouth.</p><p>“What?! Did you open it?! I feel like you <em>shouldn’t</em> open it—” As much as she wanted to know what was in the box, she knew her friend would regret it if she did.</p><p>“No, no, I didn’t open it, I just remembered he’s taking me on a date tonight.” Sylvie said as she bit her lip, trying not to let her thoughts get away from her. A mysterious box, a rare date night – the clues were leading in one direction and that was towards a proposal.</p><p>“You know I don’t like to get ahead of myself, but this is looking very much like a proposal is comi—Sylvie Brett put the box <em>down</em>!” Stella suddenly exclaimed as Sylvie dropped the box she had just picked up back in the drawer.</p><p>Sylvie pouted, “How did you know I was holding it?”</p><p>“I can hear you rustling.” She explained. “You don’t want to open it, don’t ruin the surprise.”</p><p>“There might not even<em> be</em> a surprise.” Sylvie grumbled as she closed the door and flopped down on the bed. “It probably isn’t a ring and I’ve made it into this big… <em>thing.</em>”</p><p>“Come on Brett, marriage isn’t exactly out of the question for you two.” Stella reminded her. This really wasn’t that big of a shock to anybody who knew the couple. Most people were surprised it hadn’t happened already.</p><p>“I mean we’ve talked about getting married and it’s something we both want but have never been proactive about making happen.” Sylvie reasoned. Stella was right, marriage wasn’t out of the question at all, but it just wasn’t something they’d prioritised. “And I am ok if we don’t get married.” She made clear. “I love our life and I don’t need a ring to make it feel more real.”</p><p>“But…” Stella added on to the end of Sylvie’s sentence. She could hear the uncertainty in her friend’s tone.</p><p>Sylvie sighed gently as she sat up again, “There’s something nice about the idea of us all being Caseys.” She confessed quietly. There was something symbolically beautiful to Sylvie about taking the last name of her husband and her daughter. With or without the surname, nothing could ever change the fact that they were a family, but it would be a nice reminder that they were a unit and that they had a partnership in everything they did.</p><p>“I hear you.” Stella said sympathetically. “How about you just see what happens tonight and go from there? And if it doesn’t happen, it’s the 21<sup>st</sup> century Brett! Propose to him!” Stella hyped.</p><p>Sylvie smiled down the line, “Maybe…” Honestly, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Why shouldn’t she be the one to propose? “God, I feel ill…” Sylvie whined down the phone as she ran her hand over her stomach. She’d felt off for the past few days, but this event had just made it <em>worse</em>. “I haven’t this sick since—”</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Holy crap.</p><p>
  <em>She hadn’t felt this sick since she was pregnant with Charlie.</em>
</p><p>She and Matt had decided a few months ago to ditch the birth control and see what happened. They loved the idea of expanding their family, but they weren’t putting any pressure on it. Sylvie had almost forgotten that’s what they were doing – until right now of course.</p><p>“Since what?” Stella asked as Sylvie remained in a stunned silence down the other end of the line. “Brett? <em>Hello?”</em></p><p>“Stella I gotta go” Sylvie said down the line as she hung up the phone and immediately went to her calendar.</p><p>She was late.</p><p>Oh <em>god</em>. This was happening. All of this was happening, every major life event was being flung into her lap at once.</p><p>Sylvie quickly dialled Matt’s number and he picked up after a few rings.</p><p>“Hey, just walking into the hardware store now. You ok?” he asked down the line.</p><p>“Yeah, would you mind stopping by the pharmacy to pick something up for me?” she asked as she started to pace the room again.</p><p>Sylvie could practically hear Matt frown down the phone, “Yeah, are you still feeling sick?”</p><p>“Yeah, a little—”</p><p>“You should take some more of that herbal tea you like, it tends to help—”</p><p>“Matt, I need you to get me a pregnancy test.” Sylvie blurted out and was met with silence down the line.</p><p>
  <em>“Daddy why did we stop walking?” </em>
</p><p>Sylvie could hear Charlie ask in the distance.</p><p>“Sorry baby” Matt grumbled as Sylvie heard the shuffling start again as they walked on. “You uh – you really think you’re pregnant?” he asked, not wanting to get too excited about it until they actually took the test.</p><p>“I think I might be, yeah. I haven’t felt this sick since Charlie and we have been casually trying…” she reminded him.</p><p>“Yeah” Matt said with a breathy laugh. <em>He remembered.</em> He just hadn't expected it to happen so <em>soon</em>. "We won’t be long here, just hang tight, relax…” he said, trying to calm himself down just as much as he was trying to calm her down. “Don’t put the laundry away—”</p><p>Sylvie laughed down the line, “Matt, I can put some clothes away—”</p><p>“I know, I just – I’m sorry I’m not there.” He apologised. He knew he probably sounded ridiculous, but he hadn’t been there when she found out about Charlie and he didn’t want to miss a moment of this now.</p><p>“You are here Matt, you’re buying me the test!” she reminded him.</p><p>“Right, yeah, the test… ok, I’m going to hang up now.” He said resolutely. “Hey Sylvie?” he said quickly before she could say bye. “I love you.”</p><p>Sylvie smiled down the line, “I love you too.”</p><p>This day really was full of surprises, huh?</p><hr/><p>45 minutes later, Matt and Sylvie were sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning against the worktop, watching Charlie as she danced and sang to herself while looking at her moves in the floor length mirror that stood in the corner of the room.</p><p><em>“Up like a rocket, down like the rain, back and forth like a choo choo traaaaaain!” </em>she sang to her own made-up tune as she spun on the spot and moved her hips from side to side.</p><p>Matt and Sylvie grinned at her. Charlie’s greatest form of entertainment was often herself and it was the funniest thing to watch. She was constantly making up little songs (last night it had been a song about the pasta and broccoli she had for dinner) and they loved hearing her ability to make a song out of anything. Right now, they were especially proud that her teeth brushing song was so stuck in her head.</p><p>Sylvie pulled her knees up to her chest, “The idea of Charlie having a duet partner sounds pretty amazing right now.” She said quietly as she looked to Matt who was smiling softly down at her.  </p><p>“The idea of having another <em>you</em> sounds pretty amazing right now.” He replied as Sylvie rested her head on his shoulder.</p><p>“I don’t know – I think we could do with another broody Matt running around here.” She said as she snuggled further into his shoulder. Matt rested the tip of his nose against her head and grinned into her hair. He wasn’t opposed to having a mini-him running around here either. </p><p>The timer on Matt’s phone went off as Sylvie lifted her head and looked from Matt’s phone to his slightly nervous face.</p><p>“You ready?” He asked.</p><p>Sylvie took one more glance back at Charlie who was still spinning and dancing in the corner, having no real clue what her parents were doing right now.</p><p>“Yeah.” Sylvie said quietly as she and Matt stood up. Sylvie looked down at the counter and slowly lifted the pregnancy test before cautiously turning it over to see what it said.</p><p>Her mouth fell open slightly before she quickly closed it again.</p><p>“… it’s positive.” She said in a whisper as Matt’s entire face lit up.</p><p>“Really?” He asked as she turned the test around so he could see the positive that appeared across the little screen.</p><p>“We’re having a baby” Sylvie said as the tears clouded her eyes and little smile appeared on her face.</p><p>“Yeah, we are” Matt said through a watery laugh as he pulled her into his chest and hugged her tightly. The joy they felt in that moment brought them back to when Sylvie told Matt about Charlie in the lounge at 51. Their hearts just felt so full then <em>and</em> now. Their family was growing at it just felt so perfect. This family, this life - it was all they had ever wanted and more.</p><p>They pulled back from the hug slightly as Matt kissed along her cheeks, raising his hands to cup them and brush his thumbs along her cheek bone. The softness on Matt’s face caused Sylvie to bite her lip and fight back her tears. Her mind sent her back to her discovery this morning and she felt even more emotional about the whole thing. Before she could stop herself, Sylvie let out an audible sob as she stepped away from a wide eyed and stunned Matt.</p><p>Her cry was enough to pull Charlie out of her little bubble as she rushed over to her mom and hung on to one of her legs. “Momma sad?”</p><p>“No baby, I’m fine, I promise.” Sylvie said in a shaky voice as she sniffed a few times and wiped away some stray tears.</p><p>“Sylvie…” Matt said as he walked towards her again, his hands coming to rest on gently on her arms. “What is it? Do you – do you not want another baby?” he asked cautiously.</p><p>“No, I do, I really do.” She insisted as she ran her hand over Charlie’s hair as she continued to cling to her mom’s leg. “It’s just – there’s going to be three Casey’s in this house now and I’m not a Casey and I—” she stopped herself as she realised what she was about to say. It had been a whirlwind of a day and she just needed to get everything off her chest. “I’m sorry.” She apologised immediately.</p><p>“For what?”</p><p>“I found the black ring box in your drawer and I’ve been really in my head about it and I thought you were maybe going to propose tonight on our date and maybe you still are and I’m sorry if I sound insane right now talking about not being a Casey.” She rambled as Matt just continued to blink at her, giving her the space to say whatever she needed to say. “I know marriage is a big deal for us given everything we’ve been through but I want to marry you, so much, I want to be able to call you <em>husband</em>, but I also don’t want you to feel like you have to marry me. Our life is <em>great </em>without it and I just – I’m going to stop rambling now.” She said as she let out a breath and ran her hand across her forehead.</p><p>Matt took a moment to take in her words before he spoke. “First of all;” he began as he took Sylvie’s hand from her head and held it in his, “You don’t sound insane.” He made clear. He never wanted her to feel like she was insane when it came to talking about their relationship. Her emotions were valid and she had ever right to feel them and talk about them without being judged. “Second of all… that wasn’t a ring.” He said with a grimace as Sylvie dropped her hand from his.</p><p>“It wasn’t?” she asked quietly. God, she <em>was</em> insane, she <em>knew</em> she was overthinking it.</p><p>“No… It was just some cufflinks.” He added with an apologetic glance.</p><p>
  <em>“Oh.” </em>
</p><p>Was all Sylvie could manage to say. She should have just opened the box.</p><p>“But this…” Matt said as he reached into his pocket and lifted out a small, square,<em> blue </em>velvet box. “This is a ring” he said with a wide grin as he opened the box to reveal the most beautiful white gold engagement ring, an oval shaped diamond resting in the middle and two little pear-shaped diamonds on either side. It was dainty and sweet and very <em>Sylvie</em>.</p><p>Sylvie looked between Matt and the ring, completely stunned by what was happening right now.</p><p>Matt had a ring in his drawer. She was pregnant. Matt <em>didn’t</em> have a ring in his drawer. Matt had a ring in his <em>pocket.</em> Matt was proposing to her.</p><p>
  <em>Matt had a ring in his pocket. Matt was proposing to her. </em>
</p><p>“I had a big romantic plan for tonight, but honestly? Standing in our bathroom with Charlie singing her tooth brushing song and a positive pregnancy test feels like the perfect place for this to happen.” He said with a little laugh that Sylvie returned as her panicked tears quickly turned to joyful ones.</p><p>Meanwhile, Charlie had released Sylvie’s leg from her hold and had climbed onto the toilet seat so she could look past her mom and get a better glance at whatever her dad was holding that was causing them to grin like total <em>fools</em>.</p><p>“This is our life Sylvie and I love our life. I love <em>you </em>and I don’t want anything to change… except making you a Casey.”</p><p>Matt lowered himself down on one knee and beamed up at the love of his life.</p><p>“Sylvie Brett – you are the best thing to ever happen to me and I want nothing more than to call you <em>wife</em> - will you marry me?”</p><p><em>“Yes</em>.” Sylvie said instantly. She leaned forward and rested her hands over his jaw, “A definite, certain, unquestionable <em>yes</em>” she joked as Matt smiled wider than he ever had before.</p><p>He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger before he stood up and kissed his fiancée with as much love and tender fervour as he had the first time he ever kissed her.</p><p>“I love you.<em> So</em> much.” She whispered as he pulled away, their foreheads resting against each other’s.</p><p>Before Matt could say anything back, his attention was drawn to their daughter who was still standing on the toilet. Sylvie turned around and looked at her too – a little taken aback by her stance.</p><p>For the first time in a very long time – Charlotte Elizabeth Casey had been stunned into <em>silence.</em></p><p>It was evident she hadn’t fully grasped what was going on right now – and in all honesty, neither had Sylvie or Matt. Finding out you were having another baby and getting engaged in the space of five minutes was a lot to digest. Yet, it seemed entirely fitting for them. Most of the big moments in their lives had been like a whirlwind.</p><p>“Charlie, are you ok?” Sylvie asked as she walked over to her daughter and lifted her up.</p><p>“Why are you so <em>happy</em>?” Charlie asked curiously. That was all she managed to take from the moment – her parents were entirely joyful and she wasn’t sure why.</p><p>“Mommy and daddy are getting married sweetie.” Sylvie explained with a smile as Charlie wrapped her arms around Sylvie’s neck and squished their cheeks together.</p><p>“<em>Yay!”</em> Charlie exclaimed as she reached an arm out to her dad and pulled him into their hug. She had no idea what that really meant, but her parents were happy and that’s all that mattered to her.</p><p>“And you’re going to be a big sister.” Matt added. “Mommy’s having a baby.”</p><p>Charlie’s face fell, “A <em>baby</em>?” she asked incredulously. “… no thank you.” She said politely as she shook her head. She wasn’t in much of a mood to share her mommy and daddy right now.</p><p>“We’ll uh – we’ll work on that one.” Sylvie said to Matt with a little grimace as Matt chuckled. They had a few months to prepare Charlie for the new addition to their family. Maybe another rhyme that she could turn into a song would help.</p><p>Right now, they just wanted to focus on the immense love that they felt right now. They wanted to treasure this moment – this crazy, whirlwind of a moment. It was certainly a day they would never forget.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. They're Ours</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Charlie becomes a big sister.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just some family fluff and Brettsey soppiness to brighten the Brettsey fandom a little!</p><p>I hope you enjoy this little snippet of 'Whirlwind' as a sceptical Charlie is introduced to her new sibling...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a late Friday afternoon, and Matt opened the front door of their recently refurbished town house, quietly closing the door behind him. Everything was quiet – an unusual occurrence in their home. Between Charlie and constantly having their friends and family over, things could be a little chaotic. They wouldn’t have it any other way, however. They had said from the start of their relationship that they wanted their home to be a space where their children felt safe to be themselves and their friends and family could come knocking whenever they wanted.</p><p>He heard voices from the kitchen and moved to investigate, standing in the doorframe to observe the scene in front of him. Charlie was sitting on the counter in her favourite silver sparkling tutu and fairy wings covering her back, watching as Stella mixed something together in a large glass bowl.</p><p>“Can we add the em-ems yet?” Charlie asked hopefully.</p><p>“I think we better add the M&amp;Ms before<em> you </em>eat them all, don’t think I haven’t noticed you sneaking a taste…” Stella jokingly teased as Charlie boldly popped another one in her mouth and grinned.</p><p>Stella gasped, “You are one bold girl Charlie Casey!”</p><p>Matt smirked. Bold was one word to describe his boisterous baby girl.</p><p>Except she wasn’t technically the baby in the family anymore. That title had been claimed by another – which was why Stella was here with Charlie instead of Sylvie.</p><p>“What are you making?” Matt asked from the door as Charlie excitedly looked up at the sound of her father’s voice.</p><p>“Hi dad!” Charlie beamed as she gave him a little wave.</p><p>“Hi baby” he replied with a smile. It seemed like just yesterday she was the baby that fit so delicately into his forearm. He he walked closer towards them and peered into the bowl. “Looks like a sugar coma waiting to happen…”</p><p>“I wish this had a name, but it doesn’t.” Stella revealed. “It’s just rice krispies, marshmallows, chocolate, sprinkles—”</p><p>“Em-ems!” Charlie added. They were without a doubt her favourite part.</p><p>“Well, whatever it is, it looks great” Matt said as he scooped Charlie off the counter and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Where’s Severide?”</p><p>“Uncle Sevie is outside building Charlie’s playhouse that nana and gramps bought her.” Stella informed him as she nodded out the patio door to Severide, who was looking confused as<em> hell</em> by the instruction sheet for the wooden playhouse Sylvie’s parents had bought Charlie as a ‘big sister present’.</p><p>“I think he might need your help daddy – since you’re <em>condruction</em> man.” Charlie whispered in Matt’s ear. Her vocabulary and speech was exceptionally good for her age, but there were plenty of words that she still hadn’t quite got. “And you also need to teach Sevie how to do the braids – he doesn’t do them like you.” She said with a pout. Severide had tried <em>so</em> hard to braid Charlie’s hair like she’d asked, but it was clear from the get-go that nothing would compare to Matt’s braids, because it wasn’t about the braids at all. It was about missing her parents - especially when she’d realised what they’d gone to do.</p><p>Or more, what they’d gone to <em>get.</em></p><p>Matt and Sylvie had warned Severide and Stella that Charlie might be a little off once they’d told her where her parents had gone. Over the past few months, they’d tried everything they could to make Charlie realise that becoming a big sister wasn’t a bad thing. They’d tried all kinds of books about how there would always be room in her mommy’s arms for both the baby and Charlie, or about all the fun things she’d get to do as a sister. They even bought her a baby doll to practice being a big sister with – but she was still sceptical about the whole thing. They often caught her staring at Sylvie’s growing belly pensively, as if she was trying to decide how she<em> really</em> felt about this baby thing.</p><p>“I think we could have a braid lesson with Sevie.” Matt told her as he inspected her admittedly messy braids.</p><p>“Is mommy here?” Charlie asked expectantly.</p><p>Matt briefly glanced as Stella who gave him a knowing nod, “I’m going to go lend Uncle Sevie a hand.” Stella said as she set the bowl down, knowing Matt needed a moment with Charlie.</p><p>As the backdoor closed behind her, Matt set Charlie back down on the counter, her little hand moving into one of his before resting them in her lap.</p><p>“Mommy is here.” Matt said with a nod. “<em>I </em>just wanted to see you first.” He teased, running his fingers over her messy braids.</p><p>Charlie giggled, “Daddy you have to learn to share me, I have <em>plenty</em> of hugs to go round.” She insisted. Her parents were always telling her about the importance of sharing – her daddy should do it too!</p><p>“Oh I know you do and they are the sweetest hugs in the world.” He told her as she smiled proudly. There was nothing the Casey clan loved more than a cuddle. “You know who else has plenty of hugs to go around? Me and mommy. That means we’ll have plenty of hugs for you <em>and</em> the baby…” he said, broaching the purpose of this conversation as carefully as he could.</p><p>Truth was, Sylvie and Matt had decided that Matt should go into the house first and talk to Charlie about what was about to happen. This was a huge moment and a huge <em>change</em> for the little girl. They wanted to make it as seamless a transition as possible.</p><p>Charlie narrowed her eyes; “… so that means you decided to bring it home?”</p><p>“Just for you.”</p><p>“But – but – Alvin said his little brother cries all the time and <em>poops</em> his<em> pants</em>.” Charlie said as scrunched up her nose. It appeared that her friend from playgroup had done nothing to ease her concerns about having a baby in the house.</p><p>“You used to cry all the time too.” Matt told her. He remembered all too clearly rocking Charlie at night when she suffered from colic. “<em>And </em>you pooped your pants.”</p><p>
  <em>“Gross.”</em>
</p><p>“But you learnt how not to poop your pants. You could teach the baby that too when they’re old enough.” Matt incentivised. Charlie loved it when she was given some responsibility. Whether it was helping her mom cook or carrying in some of the groceries when they went to the store. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to play into that.</p><p>“… and comfort them when they cry.” Charlie added on.</p><p>Matt nodded eagerly, “Yeah, absolutely.”</p><p>“And they’ll play with me?”</p><p>“When they’re big enough, yeah. You know – maybe it might help if you<em> saw</em> the baby.” Matt suggested. Sylvie had theorised that it would take actually <em>seeing</em> the baby for Charlie to realise that being a big sister wasn’t such a bad thing. It would become more real for the little girl. “Then you can see for yourself how perfect a little baby is.” He said, his own pride coming through in that moment. Their baby was perfect. <em>Both </em>of their babies were. He felt like the luckiest guy on the planet.</p><p>“Maybe a brother wouldn’t be so bad…” Charlie conceded. It wasn’t the level of enthusiasm Matt was hoping for, but it was a start.</p><p>“A brother wouldn’t be such a bad thing… but you actually have a baby sister waiting in the living room to meet you.” Matt told her as the barely there smile on Charlie’s face grew a little bit more. A sister instead of a brother was <em>definitely </em>a game changer.</p><p>“That’s… <em>interesting</em>.” She said as Matt grinned. She lifted out her arms and allowed Matt to help her off the counter before she turned around and dashed into the living room.</p><p>Her small smile turned into a beam when she saw her mom leaning over the car seat that rested on the ground, fixing a blanket that covered her little sister.</p><p>“Momma!” she squealed as Sylvie turned around and moved to her knees, holding out her arms for her daughter.</p><p>“Hi sweetie!” she said as Charlie launched into her arms, hitting her mom in the face with her fairy wings in the process. “I am<em> so</em> happy to see you, I <em>missed</em> you.” Sylvie said as she squeezed Charlie tightly, the tears welling in her eyes. She’d only been away from Charlie for a day, but a lot had changed over that day. In this moment she just wanted to hold her first baby and never let her go.</p><p>“I missed you too.” Charlie said as she pulled back from the hug, her little arms still resting on Sylvie’s shoulders.</p><p>“Who did these braids?” Sylvie asked as she ran her fingers over Charlie’s messy hair.</p><p>Charlie sighed, “<em>Sevie</em>… daddy’s going to teach him how to do them properly.”</p><p>“Daddy definitely does the best braids.” Sylvie said with a little laugh as she beamed up at Matt, who was happily watching his girls from the other side of the room. “So… are you ready to meet your little sister?” Sylvie asked hopefully. She’d assumed that her talk with Matt had gone well enough for her to come in here like a rocket.</p><p>Charlie apprehensively nodded her head as she looked past her mom to the tiny baby lying in the car seat. She walked towards the baby and sat down on her knees, staring in at her sister’s sleeping form.</p><p>“Charlie, this is Josie.” Sylvie introduced as she moved Josie’s blanket down slightly so Charlie could get a better look at her. Charlie stared curiously at her sister. Just like her sister had been, Josephine Martha Casey was a very pretty baby. She had a few whisps of blonde hair, her eyes were a bright blue, and she had the longest lashes. The only difference Matt and Sylvie had noticed so far was that Josie was a lot quieter and content that Charlie. They wondered if that was an early indication of how Josie would differ from her energetic sister.</p><p>“Her cheeks…” Charlie said slowly. “They’re very… <em>round</em>.” She observed as Sylvie and Matt bit back a laugh. She did have the cutest little chubby cheeks. “And she’s very… <em>cute.”</em></p><p>Charlie lifted her hand and gently touched Josie’s hand, and to her surprise, Josie stretched out her little fingers and latched them around one of Charlie’s. From that moment on, the uncertainty and the scepticism were history. Charlie was totally <em>smitten</em> with Josie and she understood <em>completely</em> why her parents brought her home.</p><p>She turned round to look at her parents and beamed at them excitedly before turning her attention back to Josie as her baby sister let out a yawn.</p><p>“Wow, that was a <em>big</em> yawn…” Charlie observed as she gently ran her fingers over Josie’s head. “I think it would be ok if we kept her mommy.”</p><p>Sylvie stifled a laugh. It was amusing that Charlie thought she had a choice. “You’re being so gentle with her Charlie, that’s very sweet.” She praised instead as Charlie shot her a proud smile.</p><p>“I’m going to get Stella and Severide.” Matt announced as he happily left the room to find his friends. He was desperate to show off his baby to anybody and everybody.</p><p>Sylvie remained kneeled, running her hand over Charlie’s little braids as she watched her girls interact. She’d said to Matt when they found out she was pregnant that giving Charlie a duet partner for all the little songs she made up sounded pretty damn great – and it appeared Charlie wasn’t wasting any time. She started humming to herself and shimmying her body from where she sat on the floor.</p><p><em>“Baby Jo-Jo, she’s so cute and squishy and she poops her paaaants” </em>Charlie sang to herself from where she sat.</p><p>Sylvie opened her mouth to question why Charlie’s mind went to <em>poop</em>, but before she could, Matt arrived back with Stella and Severide.</p><p>“Sevie, Stella! Come meet my baby sister!” Charlie exclaimed as she waved them over. “But you have to be <em>very</em> gentle with her, she’s <em>tiny.”</em> She warned, the protective big sister mode coming into play already.</p><p>“She’s changed her tune.” Stella said quietly to Sylvie. She’d heard <em>all </em>about Charlie’s reluctance to accept a baby into the family and she’d even been witness to some of the conversations Matt and Sylvie had had with Charlie about it. One thing Stella thought she knew for <em>sure</em> was that Charlie Casey was as <em>stubborn</em> as can be (a trait she was convinced Charlie had learnt from her Uncle Sevie) and she wouldn’t budge easily on the matter. She was glad, however, that she’d been proven wrong.</p><p>“It seemed that all it took was actually seeing Josie for Charlie to realise this wasn’t a bad thing.” Sylvie explained as she carefully lifted Josie out of her car seat and stood up while everyone watched the baby girl snuggle comfortably into her mother’s arms.</p><p>“Daddy, I can’t see” Charlie said as she held her arms up for him and allowed him to swoop her up so she could peer closer at the baby.</p><p>“You guys, she is <em>amazing.”</em> Stella observed as she gently ran her finger down Josie’s cheek. “Hi Josie, I’m auntie Stella and I am going to spoil you<em> rotten</em>.” She cooed down at the little girl.</p><p>“How are you feeling Brett?” Severide asked as Josie started to squirm a little and open her eyes to see all the people who were gazing over her.</p><p>“Surprisingly good actually.” Sylvie said. She’d had a relatively straightforward labour and she was eternally grateful for it. She was a little sore, but she knew a lot of other women weren’t so lucky, so she was really counting her blessings. She and her baby were both incredibly healthy and happy.</p><p>“Momma, can I hold her?” Charlie asked hopefully.</p><p>“Sure you can baby” Sylvie said as Matt sat Charlie down on the sofa and placed a large pillow over her lap to rest Josie on. “Ok, you have to remember to hold her head because she can’t hold it up on her own.” Sylvie explained as Charlie nodded.</p><p>Sylvie slowly rested Josie in Charlie’s arms, ensuring that Charlie’s little hand was under Josie’s head before she moved back. Sylvie bit her lip in total glee at the sight of her daughters together. They just looked so <em>precious.</em></p><p>Matt stepped behind her and wrapped his arms across her chest, her hand coming up to latch over his wrist as he did so. “They’re <em>ours.”</em> He whispered in her ear before smiling against it, causing her to beam that little bit more. Her heart felt so full. She didn’t realise she could love someone as much as she loved her girls and the man who had her wrapped in his arms. The complicated path they had to go down to get here felt entirely worth it.</p><p>“Sevie, take our picture!” Charlie demanded of her uncle who obediently whipped out his phone and started taking photos from all angles. It was safe to say that all <em>four </em>of their phones were full of pictures of Charlie and her exploits, and they were more than happy to add Josie to their galleries too.</p><p>Suddenly, Charlie’s face clouded with fear as Josie’s little nose scrunched up and her lips parted before she started to cry lightly.</p><p>“Momma, she’s crying!” Charlie announced as she looked up desperately at her mom for her to take Josie off her.</p><p>“I got it, don’t worry.” Sylvie assured her as she lifted Josie and sat down beside Charlie. “I think she’s just a little tired from her journey home from the hospital, we should probably let her get back to sleep.” She explained to her eldest.</p><p>“Ok” Charlie agreed as she climbed off the sofa and grabbed onto Stella’s hand. “Come on Stella, we can finish our treats now.” She said as she pulled Stella in the direction of the kitchen.</p><p>“Ok, I guess the baby excitement is over…” Stella said with a slight laugh. Charlie’s attention span really was slim.</p><p>“Josie will be here when we get back, but the em-ems might not be.” Charlie reasoned. “Daddy likes to sneak some and eat them when nobody is watching.” She ratted out.</p><p>“Like father like daughter” Matt called after them, sending Charlie a playful glare for ratting him out like that.</p><p>“So she seems ok with everything, right?” Sylvie said, feeling a lot less anxious about the whole thing now that it had happened.</p><p>“She’s going to be a great big sister guys. No doubt in my mind.” Severide told them confidently as Sylvie and Matt smiled at each other.</p><p>Severide went into the kitchen to help Stella and Charlie with their treats and Matt moved to sit down beside Sylvie as she gently ran her finger down Josie’s button nose to sooth her.</p><p>“I’m not saying we make perfect babies Matt… but we<em> totally </em>make perfect babies, just<em> look</em> at this little <em>nugget,</em> I could eat you <em>up</em>.” She cooed as she kissed Josie’s smooth skin.</p><p>Matt chuckled, “She is pretty perfect… and now that she’s here, we can move onto the next thing.”</p><p>“Geez Matt, she’s a day old, give us a minute to adjust before we start thinking about number three…” she joked.</p><p>Matt playfully rolled his eyes and Sylvie smiled at his annoyance, “<em>I mean</em>, we can move onto me making good on my promise to make you a Casey.” He said as he lifted her left hand and kissed her ring finger, just above the sparkling engagement ring that adorned it. They’d decided to wait until after Josie was born before they got married. They’d waited this long, what was a few more months?</p><p>“That’s sounds good to me.” Sylvie said quietly as Matt leaned forward and lightly kissed her. “Though you need to make sure you carve out some time to teach Severide how to braid…” she added with a grimace.</p><p>Matt laughed, “That’s what Charlie said.”</p><p>“Like mother like daughter, we’re very particular about our braids.” She teased as she looked back at Josie. “But <em>this </em>little monkey - she is going to be the female version her daddy.” She predicted. While Charlie had a serious streak, as evidenced by her scepticism over the baby, she was a total goof with a heart of gold - just like her mom. Sylvie had a feeling, however, that Josie would be a little different. She thought she’d be a studious, compassionate, broody little girl with a hidden goofy side that came out around the right people. Sylvie wished there were more people like Matt in this world. He was just the best person she knew. So to see those traits in their daughter would be pretty special.</p><p>Matt smiled proudly as he took Josie’s hand in his finger and gently kissed it, “I could do with another brooder around here to keep me company…” he joked. “You know, when I thought about being a dad, I always saw myself as having sons. I don’t know why, it’s just where my mind went. But this? Being a girl dad? This is better than I could have ever imagined. Watching you be a girl <em>mom</em> is better than I could have imagined, I’m always in awe of you.” He complimented. He took any opportunity he could to talk about how good a mom Sylvie was. He felt so unbelievably lucky to have her and he knew Charlie and Josie would feel the same way. “So thank you for giving me this life, this family. I love you.”</p><p>Sylvie rested her free hand against Matt’s cheek. Nobody had ever made her feel as appreciated in life as Matt had. Her confidence may have taken a few knocks over the years, but she always knew her own worth – it was just nice to know that somebody else saw it too and that somebody loved her and everything that she was.</p><p>“I love you too” she said quietly.</p><p><em>“Momma, daddy, Josie! My treats are finished, come see them!” Charlie</em> called from the kitchen.</p><p>“Chief’s calling” Matt joked as Sylvie handed Josie over to him before standing up and following them into the kitchen.</p><p>Everything felt exactly how it was supposed to be and for once – a big moment in their lives didn’t feel like a chaotic whirlwind.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. All I Want</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sylvie gives Matt an idea while Charlie struggles to master a new skill.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just some Casey family sweetness that was partially inspired by 9x10!</p><p>I hope you enjoy it ❤</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>May your hands always be busy<br/>May your feet always be swift<br/>May you have a strong foundation<br/>When the winds of changes shift<br/>May your heart always be joyful<br/>May your song always be sung<br/>And may you stay forever young</em>
</p><p>Sylvie silently closed over Charlie’s bedroom door after putting her daughter to bed and followed the soft sounds of Matt’s voice to the end of the hall. She stood in the door frame of their bedroom and watched as he gently sang Josie to sleep from the rocking chair in the corner. The 6-month-old baby was snuggled comfortably in her dad’s arms, her little cheek pressed against his chest. She found the vibrations of his deep voice so soothing. Matt in turn was gently rubbing her little hand that had wrapped itself around Matt’s index finger.</p><p>Up until Charlie was born, Sylvie didn’t think she could love Matt any more than she already did – but then she heard him softly sing their daughter to sleep one night when she was a few months old, and her heart skipped a beat. Seeing Matt love their daughters in the same soft and tender way he loved her was the most special thing.</p><p>Sylvie watched as Josie finally gave in to her tiredness and her blue eyes fluttered closed. Matt stood up to put her in her bassinet when he spotted Sylvie at the door, sending her a soft smile. He set Josie down and made sure she was truly asleep before turning to Sylvie.</p><p>“My singing definitely doesn’t compare to yours, but it seems to do the trick” he said as Sylvie leaned her head on the door frame and Matt towered over her.</p><p>“I like seeing you be a dad. They just love you so much. <em>I</em> love you so much.” She said quietly. Her girls <em>adored</em> their dad and Sylvie was so grateful for it. Knowing that they had such a secure rock in their lives filled her with confidence that they would grow into loving, strong, wonderful women.</p><p>Matt smiled at her. Being a dad was <em>hard</em> – but it also filled him with more joy than he realised was possible. He knew he would love his children, but he didn’t expect it to consume him in the way that it did. He just couldn’t love his little girls more.</p><p>Matt moved Sylvie’s hair behind her ear before slowly moving down and laying some soft kisses across her shoulder and her neck.</p><p>“Maybe we need to try for girl number 3. I need all the baby love I can get.” he said, grinning against her skin.</p><p>“God, you are <em>insatiable</em>.” She said with a laugh as she nudged him in the stomach. She definitely wasn’t opposed to baby number 3, but Josie was only 6 months old. <em>That</em> conversation could wait.</p><p>Besides – she was still a Brett. Changing that was their current priority.</p><p>Matt lifted his head and wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her against him. “Any reasonable man in my position would want as many of our blonde-haired blue-eyed girls as he could get.” He said with a proud grin. “They’re just perfect.”</p><p>“Yeah, we did pretty good in the kid department.” Sylvie agreed with a beaming smile, quickly kissing him before moving away and pulling him down the hall. “My parents said they’ll be here around 11am tomorrow – are you sure that doesn’t clash with your construction job?” Sylvie asked. Martha and Peter Brett hadn’t seen Josie since she was a newborn, so they were coming to Chicago for the long weekend to spend time with their granddaughters. Charlie was <em>beyond</em> excited. She hadn’t stopped talking about all the books she was going to read with her gramps and all the games she was going to play with her nana.</p><p>Matt shook his head, “No, I’ll be here for lunch. I might need to go out for a few hours in the afternoon just to check in on a few things.”  </p><p>“That’s cool. Just promise me you won’t be gone for too long. I don’t want to deal with their wedding questions on my own.” Sylvie said with a grimace. Every time Sylvie spoke to her mother, Martha asked her if they’d set a date for their wedding – and then made a passive aggressive comment when she said they hadn’t.</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, I guess that’s ok. It would just be nice to see my only daughter get married before I die.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Well as long as you’re sure that Charlie and Josie are going to be ok with their parents unwed. You don’t want to make life unnecessarily hard for them.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s not for everyone, I guess. I mean, I always thought it was for you, but maybe I was wrong.”</em>
</p><p>“Honestly, we should just get married in our garden this weekend while they’re here.” Sylvie joked with a snort. “At least we’d actually do it instead of just <em>talk</em> about doing it and it would save the stress of planning a wedding.”</p><p>Matt stopped behind Sylvie as she moved down the stairs, pondering over her words. He knew she was just kidding – but maybe she had a point. Neither of them cared about where they got married or what the wedding was like. They just wanted to <em>be </em>married – so why <em>not</em> have a garden wedding this weekend? There was something perfectly intimate and special about the idea.</p><p>Matt lifted out his phone and dialled a familiar number, figuring it was worth investigating.</p><p>“Hey Kidd – how would you feel about pulling together a wedding in a day?”</p><hr/><p>The following day, Matt had lunch with his in-laws as promised before he disappeared in the afternoon to check out some construction sites.</p><p>Or that’s what he told Sylvie anyway.</p><p>While Matt was out, Sylvie stayed home with her parents and the girls, enjoying the nice summer weather they were having. While Charlie played outside, Sylvie sat on the playmat in the living space next to the patio with Josie – who had started to sit up and hold herself steady. Naturally, Sylvie’s parents had arrived in town with<em> streams</em> of gifts for their granddaughters, including a bunch of dresses Martha had made herself.</p><p>“Sylvie that little floral romper just looks <em>divine</em> on her.” Martha said proudly as she sat on the couch beside them, nudging Peter away from his newspaper to show him.</p><p>“It really does. You are just the prettiest baby in the whole wide world Josephine Martha Casey. Yes you are.” Sylvie cooed down at her baby as the little girl squealed and beamed up at her mother, her little arms flapping as she babbled back to Sylvie. “Are you trying to say mama? Oh my smart, smart girl!” Even though Josie was still so little, the battle was well and truly <em>on</em> for her first word since she’d started babbling. Charlie had said mama first, so Matt was determined to have Josie say dada first. It was supposed to be the easier of the two, so he felt jilted that Charlie hadn’t said it, but also proud that his baby was already pushing expectations and saying the harder words.</p><p>“Sylvie, how many times are you going to let Charlie crash into that bush on her bike?” Peter asked as they looked out the window to see Charlie pick up her bike <em>yet </em>again. Matt and Sylvie had bought Charlie a bike for Christmas and after a few weeks with her stabilisers on, she <em>insisted</em> they were taken off so she could learn to ride without them. Unfortunately for her, the skill wasn’t coming to her as naturally as she hoped it would. For the past few days, she’d spent her afternoons trying to master it, but she kept falling over or crashing into things.</p><p>“As many times as it takes for her to get it right.” Sylvie replied. She wasn’t about to stop her daughter from enjoying herself and learning a new skill. The bush was a necessary sacrifice.</p><p>“You could at least help her sweetie…” Martha reasoned, wincing as Charlie toppled over before jumping back up again.</p><p>Sylvie laughed, “Oh – <em>we’ve tried</em>. We showed her the basics but any time we tried to help her she pushed us away and <em>insisted</em> she had it.”</p><p>Peter smirked, “She’s an independent little soul, huh? Sounds like her mother. You used to never let me help you when we were in the garden or on the farm. You insisted on mastering things yourself.” he teased. Sylvie had always liked to conquer things on her own, but as she grew older, she’d learned the merit in asking for help. Charlie on the other hand hadn’t learnt that lesson yet, but they were certainly working on it.</p><p>Suddenly, they heard another crash from outside, though this time it was a little louder. They watched as Charlie looked down at her fallen bike, huffed at it, and then stormed into the house.</p><p><em>“Mommy!”</em> Charlie dramatically called as she stepped through the patio doors.</p><p>Sylvie frowned, “Yeah sweetie?”</p><p>Charlie let out a deep breath, her shoulders slumping over; “I can’t do it.”</p><p>“Can’t do what?”</p><p>“Ride the bike!” she exclaimed pointing to toppled over bike.</p><p>Sylvie shuffled over on her knees towards Charlie, “First of all – you can do anything you set your mind to Charlie Casey, don’t you ever doubt that.” She made clear, holding onto Charlie’s little hands as she continued to pout. Charlie had always been a very determined little girl, so when things didn’t quite go how she expected them to, she got ridiculously frustrated. “Second of all – some things take time. You have to be willing to work at things and practice things to become good at them.”</p><p>“But I <em>keep</em> doing it and I <em>keep</em> crashing.” Charlie whined.</p><p>“I have an idea” Sylvie began as Charlie looked at her hopefully. “Maybe you could ask gramps for help. He could hold your bike steady while you peddle.” She suggested. “It’s good to ask for help when we’re stuck and there are plenty of people that would like to help you.”</p><p>Charlie looked over at Peter, her blue eyes wide with expectation, “Will you <em>please</em> help me gramps?”</p><p>Peter nodded his head and set his newspaper down, “Of course I will sweetheart.” He agreed as Charlie bounced where she stood with glee. Gramps was the secret to her success this whole time! Who knew?!</p><p>“And there’s one more thing you could do.” Sylvie said as Charlie turned her attention back to her mom. Sylvie raised her hand and straightened Charlie’s crooked helmet before tightening the strap slightly around her chin. “You can believe that you’ll do it. Because…?”</p><p>Charlie stood up straighter and stuck her chin out, “I can do anyfing I set my mind to.” She recited with a grin. She and Matt had told Charlie from a young age that she could achieve great things if she persevered, and it had helped shape her into the confident little girl she was today.</p><p>Sylvie smiled, “Good job baby, now go get that bike back up.”</p><p>“Ok, come on gramps!” Charlie said as she grabbed onto Peter’s hand and dragged him off the sofa. “You can come watch too nana.” She told Martha who just laughed lightly to herself and followed them outside.</p><p>Sylvie then felt an unexpected, yet familiar hand run across her back. She looked up and smiled at Matt who reached out a hand and pulled her to her feet.</p><p>“I love seeing you be a mom.” He began, wrapping his arm around her waist as they stood side by side, watching Charlie and her grandparents. “They just love you so much. <em>I </em>love you so much.” Matt said, throwing back her words to him from the previous night. “She was able to go out and ride her bike because you lifted her up. You gave her the confidence to keep picking herself up. You always do.” He complimented. If he was a good dad, it was only because he got to watch her be a mom. Everything he saw her do for their daughters always pushed him to be better.  </p><p>“Well, she’s a determined girl. I have no doubt she’ll get there.” She said with a resolute nod as Matt leaned in and kissed her cheek “I didn’t think you’d be home so soon.” Sylvie commented as Matt bent down and scooped Josie up, planting a kiss on the little girl’s chubby cheek.</p><p>“I thought you and your mom could maybe go shopping or something, I can stay here with your dad and the girls.” He told her as Josie playfully slapped Matt’s cheek with her hand.</p><p>Sylvie smiled, “Yeah that would be fun!” She rarely had a chance to shop these days, so she gladly jumped at the opportunity now. “I’ll call Stella, make a real girl’s afternoon of it.”</p><p>Matt nodded, “Good idea.”</p><p>And just like that – his plan started to fall together.</p><p>“Meanwhile, Josie and I are going to snuggle up on the couch with some books.” He said down to his daughter who started to babble away at him.</p><p>“Aw my two little brooders.” She said, running her hand over Josie’s fine blonde hair. She’d been right in her initial assumption that Josie would be like Matt. While she loved to babble, she was a very content baby and enjoyed some quiet time in the afternoon (though it was often interrupted by her sister). When Matt was home, it involved just sitting on the couch with him and reading or just listening to him talk or sing quietly. Spending time with Josie was always a peaceful activity.</p><p>“Mommy, mommy!” they suddenly heard Charlie call from outside as they lifted their heads to see their daughter riding her bike on her own and not crashing into anything. “I’m doing it, I’m doing it!”</p><p>“Good job sweetie!” Sylvie called gleefully. Charlie’s giggles that were filled with pure delight radiated through the garden and into the house – and there was no greater sound to her parents.</p><p>Charlie turned her bike around once she got to the end of the garden and realised her dad was home. She gasped, “Dad!” she exclaimed – before losing her balance and toppling over. She quickly picked herself up and debated for a second about jumping onto the bike, but instead she just ran back inside.</p><p>“Daddy you here, did you see?!” she asked as she flung her little arms around Matt’s legs.</p><p>“I sure did baby, you did so good!” he praised.</p><p>Sylvie pinched Charlie’s chin affectionately, “See what determination gets you?”</p><p>Charlie nodded, “You’re right mommy. You’re <em>always</em> right. It’s good to be deterwined! Gramps, can we go again?!” she asked as she raced back outside to see her grandparents.</p><p>Sylvie folded her arms and smirked at Matt, “You hear that? I’m <em>always </em>right.” She bragged. “Josie – you <em>will</em> say mama first.” She joked. Since she was always right, maybe she just needed to speak this into existence?</p><p>Matt chuckled and shook his head, “Not a chance, <em>dada</em> is on the tip of my baby’s tongue.”</p><p><em>“Mama</em>” Josie babbled softly as Sylvie and Matt’s eyes and mouths widened.</p><p>“… unbelievable.” Matt grumbled. First Charlie, now Josie too?! “We need to <em>talk</em>” he said down to Josie as he walked out of the kitchen with her, leaving a triumphant Sylvie behind them.</p><hr/><p>Sylvie, Martha and Stella had a glorious afternoon shopping, so much so that Sylvie didn’t want to stop and come home. Stella practically had to<em> drag</em> her friend out of their final store just as they were closing. By the time they arrived home, it was starting to get darker outside, but Sylvie was still full of energy.</p><p>“This was just the <em>best,</em> I haven’t had a girl’s day out in so long.” Sylvie said blissfully as she carried her bags into the house and set them by the stairs. “We need to do this more often.”</p><p>“Girl, you do <em>not </em>have to ask me twice.” Stella made clear. She did this as part of her plan with Matt, but it was a total win for her too.</p><p>“Sylvie, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you shop like that before.” Martha joked. Sylvie had always been a quick shopper. She always knew what she wanted to get before she went and left with nothing more and nothing less.</p><p>“As much as I have loved my blissful Josie bubble – it was time for a break.” Sylvie said as they all laughed slightly. “Speaking of, this house is unusually quiet…” she said as she looked down at her watch. It was approaching Charlie’s dinner and bath time, but she figured Matt would let her stay up a little later to spend time with her gramps.</p><p>As she walked through the house, she soon spotted what looked like fairy lights hanging from the hedge in the back garden. She paused and furrowed her brows.</p><p>“Matt?” she called but received no response. She turned around and saw that Martha and Stella weren’t following her. <em>What</em> was going on?</p><p>She walked closer towards the door and before long, the whole garden came into view – and her mouth fell open. Their friends and their family were all gathered in suits and dresses, fairy lights and lanterns were covering the trees and the bushes, and a beautiful flower arch covered in blue, purple and white hydrangeas and gerbera daisies sat at the end of the garden.</p><p>“Hey” she heard a soft voice say behind her as she turned around to find Matt in a suit, a little flower attached to his lapel.</p><p>“… hi.” She replied as she let out a breath. “What is all of this?” she asked, slowly walking towards her.</p><p>Matt smiled widely at her, “After Josie was born, I said that the next thing on our to-do list was making you a Casey, and then you said that a garden wedding this weekend wouldn’t be such a bad idea – so here we are.”</p><p>“… are you serious?” Sylvie asked with a little laugh as Matt took her hands in his.</p><p>Matt nodded, “<em>Oh yeah</em>. Why do you think I suggested you and Stella take a little trip?” he teased.</p><p>“Oh my <em>god</em>, I cannot believe I didn’t click on that something was up!” she said, in disbelief at her own naivety. It appeared that Stella and Matt had been scheming behind her back all day. “It also explains why Stella insisted I buy this beautiful white summer dress…”</p><p>“Hm…” Matt said as he scrunched his eyebrows together thoughtfully, “Definitely a good thing you bought that…” He joked. “So, I know we said that we really didn’t care how we got married or where we got married but when you suggested that we do it here? Something just felt so right about it. That getting married in the space that we built together with the people we love the most in this world was the perfect way to do this.” He said as Sylvie’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s not much but – it doesn’t matter. All I want to do is marry you.”</p><p>Sylvie looked back out onto the patio at all her friends and family talking together. Stella and Martha had even slipped around the side of the house and into the garden to join everyone else. Sylvie’s heart felt so full at the sight.</p><p>“All of this – it’s <em>perfect</em>.” She said quietly before turning back to him. “Everything about this life we’ve built together is more than I could have imagined. Yes, there are the hardest of hard days but that’s<em> life </em>and knowing I get to go through these days with you by my side is <em>everything</em>. So all I want to do is marry you too.” She said as they beamed and laughed at each other – they just couldn’t help but radiate joy when they looked at one another. “All I want to do is call you husband.”</p><p>“Well then you better get into that white dress.” He said as he softly kissed her hand.</p><p>Sylvie nodded before she looked back out into the garden, “Where are the girls?” she asked expectantly. There was something really wonderful about their daughters being here for their wedding.</p><p>“Well, Stella bought Charlie a flower girl dress and Emily put some flowers in her hair, so she has been twirling around the garden all evening showing them off…” Matt said as he nodded in Charlie’s direction. They watched as she tugged on Gallo and Ritter’s sleeves to grab their attention before spinning on the spot proudly, her little smile meeting Gallo and Ritter’s as they enthusiastically told her she was the prettiest flower girl they’d ever seen.</p><p>“Oh my god, she looks <em>adorable</em>.” Sylvie cooed, her hand covering her heart.</p><p>“Yeah, she does. Josie is with Severide in her matching dress of course.” He said as Sylvie spotted Josie resting happily in Severide’s arms, her little head resting on his shoulder as he gently rubbed her back. She looked just as angelic as Charlie did – but with a little <em>less</em> energy.</p><p>The back doors opened, and Stella and Emily appeared with expectant and excited looks on their faces.</p><p>“So… are we a go?” Stella asked.</p><p>Sylvie nodded, “We’re a go.”</p><p>Emily and Stella charged towards her and looped their arms through hers before dragging her away from Matt. “That’s good because we have got to get you ready. Emily has everything set up upstairs, we’ll have you looking bridal in no time.” Stella told her as she skipped along.</p><p>Sylvie smirked and shook her head, “I can’t believe you pulled this together in a day.”</p><p>“You gave me a dream wedding – this is the least I could do for you.” Stella insisted, shooting her a little wink.</p><p>And all of this was <em>Sylvie’s</em> dream wedding. It was so intimate and special, and she couldn’t have asked for anything more. After quickly getting ready, she watched from the window as Charlie walked down the make-shift aisle, sprinkling her flower petals around her with the biggest grin on her face. Sylvie knew in that moment that it would take a <em>lot</em> to get her daughter out of her little dress.</p><p>When her dad held out his arm for her to loop her hand through, she’d half expected to feel a little nervous, but all she felt was <em>peaceful.</em> As she began to walk towards Matt and saw his smitten grin waiting for her, she felt so secure and certain that being with him for the rest of her life was the best choice she’d ever made. They made each other feel so appreciated and respected and loved. She couldn’t ask for a better partner.</p><p>As they said their vows and exchanged their rings, it felt like they were the only two people in that garden. Promising to always be the arms they felt safe in, to give each other whatever was theirs to give, to always stand side by side through life and love each other with everything they had were the easiest promises either of them had ever made.</p><p>They were only brought out of their blissful bubble when Mouch – who was acting as their officiant after getting ordained online – <em>sniffed</em>. It appeared they weren’t the only ones basking in the emotions of their commitment to each other.</p><p>“It is with great honour that I now pronounce you husband and wife – you may kiss your bride Captain.”</p><p>“Gladly” Matt whispered as he held her cheeks in his hands and kissed her softly, causing their guests to erupt in cheers while Charlie excitedly threw more flower petals around the garden. She wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to get married, but she was sure that her parents were immensely happy, and she <em>gladly</em> lavished in that feeling too.</p><p>Their whole wedding had been a perfect whirlwind of a day – and they wouldn’t have had it any other way.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Honeymoon Surprises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sylvie and Matt's belated honeymoon results in something unexpected.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone! This is just another snippet of Brettsey family fluff. I hope you enjoy it ❤</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sylvie woke up and stretched her arms out, her body sinking deeper into what she thought was the comfiest mattress she’d ever slept on. A little over a year after their perfect garden wedding, Matt and Sylvie <em>finally </em>managed to escape for a short honeymoon. They knew since so much time had passed since their wedding, they should probably just call it a holiday, but they wanted their time to bask in a (sort of) newlywed bliss. They took themselves to Hawaii and a week in the sun was exactly what they’d needed. Neither of them were sure how they were going to leave.</p><p>As Sylvie got a bearing on her surroundings, she heard the shower running from the bathroom, indicating that’s where her husband was. Her mind then drifted to the two little girls who were at home with Stella and Severide. This was the longest they’d been away from their daughters and it was <em>strange</em>. Instead of waking up to Charlie singing in her room or Josie babbling over the baby monitor, they woke up to complete <em>silence</em>. Everything they did was on <em>their </em>schedule, not their daughters – it was like a parallel universe and they almost didn’t know what to do with themselves.</p><p>As much as Sylvie was enjoying this temporary universe, she still needed to check in with her daughters for her own peace of mind. She lifted her phone and video called Stella who picked up after a couple of rings.</p><p>“Well, you look suitably relaxed and satisfied Mrs Casey.” Stella said down the line with a teasing smirk.</p><p>Sylvie bit her lip, “I think it’s safe to say honeymoons agree with us. How’s everything going? Are my babies ok?”</p><p>“I’ll let them tell you themselves.” Stella said as she walked into the Casey’s living room from the kitchen. “Charlie, look who wants to talk to you!” she said excitedly as she handed Charlie the phone.</p><p>Charlie gasped down the line and jumped off the couch, landing on her knees with a little thump. She quickly scrambled up before shouting down the phone; “Mommy?! Mommy, it’s Charlie. Can you see me?!” Charlie asked desperately as she held Stella’s phone a little too close to her face.</p><p>Sylvie held back a laugh, “Yeah baby, I can see you. Are you have a good time with Stella and Sevie?”</p><p>“It’s been <em>so</em> fun! We made cookies and built a fort and I got to be <em>queen</em> of the fort, and we watched movies <em>way</em> past my bedtime!” she told her excitedly. “But I miss you <em>so </em>much. Are you ok?!”</p><p>Sylvie finally let a little laugh out at her daughter’s antics. She didn’t know whether to be excited about her week with Stella and Severide or desperately sad that her parents weren’t here. The worry in her voice was evident. She didn’t like not seeing her parents every day and seeing with her own eyes that they <em>were</em>, in fact, ok.</p><p>“I’m fine sweetie, we’re having a wonderful time, but we miss you <em>so</em> much too and we can’t <em>wait</em> to get home and see you.” Sylvie told them. As good a time as she was having, she really did miss her babies, and she knew Matt did too. Any time he opened his phone, he stopped to look at his lock screen of his daughters just a few seconds longer than usual.</p><p>Charlie sighed dramatically, “Jo-Jo!” she called for her sister as she ran a few steps, the picture on the camera bouncing along with her. “Mommy misses us!” she told her baby sister as she sat quietly on the carpet in the living room playing with her toys. “We<em> have</em> to make her feel better.”</p><p>Charlie turned the camera onto Josie who immediately smiled at the sight of her mom.</p><p>“Hi mama” Josie said as she waved gently at her.</p><p>“Hi my sweet girl!” Sylvie said with a wide grin. “What are you do—”</p><p><em>“Mommy</em>!” Charlie suddenly said, stopping Sylvie mid-sentence as she turned the camera back onto herself.</p><p>“Charlie, it’s not nice to interrupt people.” Sylvie said, sending a warning glare in her direction.</p><p>“I know, I’m sorry, I just – I can’t see daddy! Is he ok?!” she asked before sitting down next to Josie and allowing her to see by way of compromise.</p><p>As if my magic, Matt emerged from the bathroom after his shower, his towel hanging around his waist as he ran his hand through his wet hair. He looked positively<em> tempting </em>to Sylvie in that moment, but she quickly shook those thoughts out of her head and turned her attention back to her daughters.</p><p>“Daddy is right here” Sylvie said as she nodded Matt over. His face lit up when he realised what Sylvie was doing and he dashed over to the bed and sat down beside her, looking at the screen with her.</p><p>“Hi sweeties” he said to his daughters as Charlie beamed at him and Josie started babbling ‘daddy’ and waving at him like she had with Sylvie.</p><p>“Thank goodness you’re ok daddy!” Charlie said as she let out a puff of air.</p><p>Matt chuckled, “Yeah, I’m ok Charlie.” He confirmed. “What are you and Josie doing today?”</p><p>“Sevie and Josie are going to stay at home and play and Auntie Stella and I are going shopping. I have to get some things for summer camp remember?!” she told him.</p><p>Matt nodded his head. In a few weeks, Charlie was going to her first all day summer camp with a few of her friends and Matt and Sylvie weren’t sure they’d ever seen their daughter so excited about something. In the weeks leading up to it, it was all the almost 5-year-old could talk about – especially given the fact that her cousin Violet was one of the camp counsellors.</p><p>Matt and Sylvie were a little nervous about sending her and they knew their lives were about to be as quiet as they’d ever been. Once she got home in the evenings, she’d probably collapse and go straight to bed, and then Sylvie and Matt had shift for three of those days too, so they wouldn’t see her at all then. One of the evenings was also a scheduled sleepover, so they were preparing themselves for a Charlie-less week. Despite their reservations, they knew it wouldn’t bother Charlie one bit. She was a little social butterfly, and she would thrive.</p><p>“I remember” Matt told her. “Are you excited?”</p><p>“<em>So</em> excited! Marnie and Grace are going to be there, and Violet promised me it would be the <em>best</em> week of my <em>life</em>.” Charlie told them. It appeared that Charlie thought this was a week she would never forget and that she’d be talking about it with her best friends until she was 80 years old. “You’ll be home before I go, right?” Charlie asked, worry momentarily clouding her face.</p><p>Sylvie nodded, “Don’t worry honey, we’ll be home in a few days.” She reminded her. They had a good few weeks before the camp anyway.</p><p>“Ok, good.” Charlie said with a nod. “We have to go now.” She announced abruptly. “Say bye Josie!” she told them as she turned the camera on her sister.</p><p>“Bye bye” she said to her parents as she leaned forward and kissed the screen.</p><p>“Aw, bye baby we love you <em>so</em> much” Sylvie told her, their hearts melting at her sweet little gesture.</p><p>“Bye, I love you!” Charlie added as she handed the phone back to Stella.</p><p>“As you can see your little angels are thriving under our care.” Stella told them.</p><p>“Didn’t doubt you for a second Kidd.” Matt told her as she playfully rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Now it’s time for <em>you</em> to go and enjoy the rest of your belated honeymoon. You deserve it. Talk soon!” Stella said as she quickly hung up before Sylvie could ask to say bye to her daughters again. If that happened, they never would have hung up.</p><p>Sylvie pouted, “I miss them.”</p><p>Matt sighed, “I miss them too.”</p><p>Sylvie then remembered the brief flash of desire she’d had when Matt had walked out of the room. She set her phone back down on the cabinet before sinking back down into the mattress and allowing the sheet to slowly fall off her bare chest.</p><p>“But Stella’s right… we deserve to enjoy this time away.” She said with a suggestive smirk, her hand reaching for the edge of his towel as she slowly undid the knot.</p><p>Matt quirked a brow. The last few days they’d been in a state of pure marital bliss. They’d barely left their room – and he was more than ok for that trend to continue. He grinned and shifted his hips, throwing the towel behind him before he moved to hover over his wife.</p><p>“We <em>definitely</em> need to enjoy this time.” He confirmed. Matt removed the sheet entirely from her body as Sylvie’s hands reached up and ran through his wet hair. He nested between her legs and secured their connection with a deep and intrusive kiss. They couldn’t quite believe that they got to kiss each other like this for the rest of their lives, and they were both ready to lose themselves in that feeling for as long as they could.</p><p>They briefly pulled away from the kiss and delicately rested their foreheads against each other’s.</p><p>“I love you” Matt whispered as Sylvie placed the lightest of kisses on his lips.</p><p>“I love you too” she replied before succumbing to the deep desire that was pumping through their veins.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>“More please”</em>
</p><p>Matt turned to his two-year-old daughter as she politely held her plate up for him from her spot at the table.</p><p>“More pancakes?” he asked as Josie smiled sweetly and nodded.</p><p>“Well, since you asked so politely” he said as Josie’s smile grew wider. How could he say no to the sweetness that was Josie Casey? She was the most delicate little girl and she radiated pure light in everything she did. Compared to her big sister, she was much more introverted. When Charlie ran, Josie walked, when Charlie shouted, Josie whispered, when Charlie danced, Josie sat quietly watching. She was just so content in everything she did.</p><p>Any time her parents were having a rough day, there wasn’t much a cuddle on the couch with Josie couldn’t fix. She’d gotten into the habit of gently rubbing her little hand over her parents’ cheek after she saw her mom do it to Charlie one evening when she was upset. She was a nurturing soul and anybody who came away from spending time with Josie went home feeling calm and collected.</p><p>Who knew a two-year-old could have such an effect on people?</p><p>For the past week, the Casey household had been a <em>very</em> calm and collected one with the absence of Charlie since she was at camp. They’d barely had time to speak to her since she always fell asleep in the car on the way home, but from what Violet had told them, she had been having the time of her life. ‘Mom and dad <em>who?’</em> were Violet’s exact words. They were right to think that Charlie could handle this - she’d always been an independent and fiery spirit.</p><p>And today was the day their little fiery spirit was finishing camp. All sense of calm was about to disappear, and balance would be restored to the Casey house. As excited as Matt was to see her, he was trying to savour these last few moments of quiet with Josie before Charlie came in like a whirlwind.</p><p>Matt cut up another pancake for Josie before he set it in front of her and she immediately started digging in.</p><p>“Does Ronnie want some?” Josie asked as she looked all around her for Veronicat to appear.</p><p>“I’m not sure Veronicat likes pancakes baby.” Matt told her as he moved a wayward curl from her face.</p><p>Josie looked pensive for a moment before she lifted a piece of pancake and dropped it onto the floor. “Just in case.” She told Matt who nodded and smiled. His baby was so thoughtful – even towards a cat who was largely indifferent to her owners. Sylvie, however, was convinced she was faking it out of pure stubborn cat pride – she loved sleeping by Charlie and Josie’s beds as if she were protecting them.</p><p>“You are the sweetest little girl in the world Josephine.”  Matt told her before kissing her little cheek multiple times, causing the little girl to laugh.</p><p>Suddenly, the front door swung open as Matt lifted his head and peered down the hallway to see Charlie fling her backpack down before sprinting towards him.</p><p>“Daddy!” she exclaimed excitedly as she held out her arms to him, allowing her to swoop her up and hold her close.</p><p>“There’s my girl!” he greeted happily as he held her tightly, breathing in her sweet scent and wondering how he had gone the past few days without her? It was safe to say he’d missed the chaos.</p><p>“I missed you” Charlie mumbled against her shoulder. Their brief interactions in the mornings weren’t enough it seemed. Maybe ‘mom and dad who’<em> had</em> been a bit of an exaggeration.</p><p>“I missed you too” he said as he kissed her head. “Remind me to never send you to camp again.”</p><p>Charlie shook her head as she lifted it, “No <em>way</em>, I had so much fun dad, you have to let me go again!” she insisted.</p><p>Matt chuckled, “I’m sure that could be arranged.”</p><p>He watched as Charlie fell silent, scanning Matt’s face and placing her little hands on his cheeks.</p><p>“Did I cut myself shaving?” He asked, wondering why she was looking at him so thoughtfully.</p><p>Charlie shook her head, “No<em> silly</em>, I just missed your face!” she told him as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world.</p><p>If there was one thing Charlie never failed to do, it was make her parents laugh, “well my face definitely isn’t as pretty as yours.” He replied through his laugh.</p><p>“I like your face.” Charlie told him with a secure nod.</p><p>Matt raised his brows, “You like my face?”</p><p>“Yeah. It’s my dad’s face and I like it.” She confirmed as Matt smiled at her. He really couldn’t love this little girl more if he tried. He was one proud and smitten girl dad. “Where’s Josie?”</p><p>“She’s right here.” Matt said as he set Charlie down and let her run over to her little sister.</p><p>“Hi Jo Jo!” she happily greeted as she climbed up onto the chair beside Josie’s booster seat to see her better, before taking the opportunity to squish Josie’s little cheeks like she’d done to Matt only moments before. Josie looked a little overwhelmed by Charlie’s antics before she realised that it was <em>Charlie</em> – the sister she adored and who was constantly entertaining her with her bubbly ways.</p><p>Matt heard some more shuffling at the door as he turned around to see Sylvie walk in with Charlie’s bag. It appeared their daughter didn’t stick around to lend a hand.</p><p>“Hey” she greeted as she set the bag down at the door and closed it behind her.</p><p>“Hi. I knew I missed Charlie while she was at camp, but I didn’t realise just how much until that cheeky smile beamed up at me.” Matt said as he walked towards his wife, his own smile almost taking over his face.</p><p>“Well, she talked about you the whole drive home so I’m guessing the feeling is mutual.” Sylvie informed him with a little laugh. “What did you and Josie get up to while I was gone?”</p><p>“We just ate some pancakes while talking global affairs and the stock market.” Matt joked.</p><p>Sylvie shook her head and laughed, “in a few years’ time, I might actually believe that’s what you talked about.”</p><p>“We just ate some pancakes and Josie insisted on leaving some on the floor for Veronicat.”</p><p>“Veronicat is going to get fat if Josie insists on feeding her from her own meal every time she eats.” Sylvie said with a laugh. “She’s a total sucker for those big cat eyes.”</p><p>“Well, she can help us feed someone else very soon instead…” Matt said as he raised her eyebrows knowingly at her.</p><p>Sylvie shot him a little smile, “You want to tell them now?”</p><p>“Now’s as good a time as any.” He said, the excitement clear in his expression.</p><p>The enjoyment of Matt and Sylvie’s honeymoon went a little further than expected when a routine doctor’s check-up a few weeks later revealed another little Casey would be joining them in a few short months. Matt and Sylvie were completely elated by the news. As unexpected as it was, it felt <em>right.</em> It felt like this was their missing piece and they were so grateful for the family they were getting to build together.</p><p>The only people they’d told so far were Sylvie’s parents, Boden, and Severide and Stella. Now that Charlie was back it felt like a good time to tell their daughters. They didn’t expect Josie to have much of a reaction to the news, but they<em> were </em>a little worried about Charlie, given how she’d initially reacted to the news of Josie’s impending arrival. They’d hoped that she’d only think about how she felt when she <em>saw</em> Josie for the first time, and realise that another sibling was a wonderful thing.</p><p>They walked into the kitchen to find Charlie trying to remove Josie from her booster seat. She’d only managed to remove the tray and buckle, but she hadn’t got much further. Sylvie and Matt stood back and silently watched – just to see what Charlie would try next. She tried desperately to pull Josie and lift her, but she wasn’t having much luck. Eventually, Josie gently pushed her sister out of the way and climbed off the chair herself.</p><p>Sylvie and Matt smirked. It was nice to know that if Josie ever needed help, her sister was on hand – but even if she wasn’t she was more than capable of handling herself.</p><p>“Hey girlies, come here” Sylvie said as she nodded them over to the sitting area in the corner of the kitchen. The girls climbed onto the couch while Matt and Sylvie sat opposite them on the coffee table. “Daddy and I have something to tell you.”</p><p>Charlie gasped, “Are we getting a puppy?!”</p><p>“Uh—”</p><p>“I just really think Ronnie needs a friend. Maybe she’d like another animal more than she likes humans.” She said as she scrunched up her nose.</p><p>“Maybe… but we’re not getting a puppy sweetie.” Sylvie told her.</p><p>Charlie’s face fell, “Oh… maybe for my birthday.” She said with a confident nod.</p><p>“But we are getting something else” Matt added as Charlie’s eyes narrowed.</p><p>“… I’m listening.”</p><p>“Well – mommy is going to have a baby” Sylvie said as she and Matt beamed down at their girls, waiting for their reaction.</p><p>“Baby?” Josie asked as she tilted her head to the side.</p><p>“Yeah honey, you’re going to be a big sister” she replied as Josie didn’t reply. She merely blinked at her parents as if she was processing the news. They were right not to expect much from her, but they could tell she was curious and maybe as Sylvie’s belly grew, she’d have more questions about it.</p><p>“But… I’m <em>already</em> a big sister.” Charlie piped up.</p><p>“You can be a big sister to more than one sibling Charlie.” Matt reminded her. “And you love being a big sister. It will just be someone else for you to love.”</p><p>Charlie looked from her parents and down to Josie who in turn was looking up at her big sister, waiting to see her response so she could react accordingly.</p><p>“… I am a <em>pretty</em> good big sister.” Charlie reasoned as Sylvie and Matt bit back their laughter. Sometimes they wondered just where Charlie got her unwavering confidence and self-assurance from.</p><p>“Yeah, you are.” Sylvie agreed.</p><p>“But dad – what if it’s another girl?” Charlie asked curiously. “You’ll be really outnumbered then!”</p><p>“I will gladly be outnumbered by another blue-eyed girl that’s as sweet as you two.” He insisted. His girls were his world, and he almost couldn’t imagine being anything<em> but</em> a girl dad.</p><p>“Where is the baby?” Josie asked quietly.</p><p>“The baby is growing inside mommy’s tummy.” Sylvie told her. They then watched as their youngest daughter slipped off the couch and walked towards Sylvie. She stood in between Sylvie’s legs and looked at her stomach before moving her head and resting her little ear against it. Sylvie’s hand ran over Josie’s hair as she looked down at her amusedly.</p><p>Josie looked up at her dad, “I no hear the baby.” She told him with a frown.</p><p>“It’s going to be a little while until you can hear the baby sweets. You should be able to feel them move in a few weeks.” Matt told her. He wanted to assure her that the baby was <em>actually</em> there, even if it wasn’t something she could fully comprehend right now.</p><p>Josie nodded her head, “Ok” she said, satisfied with her dad’s answer and seemingly satisfied with the idea of a baby. She walked away from Sylvie and grabbed a book from the basket in the corner before handing it to Matt. “Can we read daddy?”</p><p>“Sure can baby” he said as he scooped Josie up and sat down with her in the arm chair in the corner, leaving Sylvie to talk to Charlie.</p><p>“You know you’re the best big sister in the world, right?” Sylvie told Charlie quietly as Charlie smiled gently at her.</p><p>“A baby is just one more person to play with.” Charlie concluded as she leaned forward slightly. “And I <em>really</em> hope it’s another girl.” She whispered with a little giggle.</p><p>“Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Now come snuggle with me and tell me <em>all</em> about camp.” Sylvie said as she moved to the couch and pulled Charlie into her lap, her arms wrapping securely around her as Charlie started talking and 100mph about her week. She loved Charlie’s enthusiasm for life and the moments she got to slow down and just listen to her firstborn’s excitement were moments she would always treasure.</p><hr/><p>“Do you think Josie’s going to be ok?” Matt asked as he and Sylvie removed the decorative cushions and blankets from their bed that evening. Matt had told Sylvie that the number of cushions on their bed was a<em> little</em> excessive, but she didn’t listen. It was about the <em>aesthetic </em>and nothing was going to stop her from having the interior of her dreams.</p><p>Sylvie stopped just before she tossed the final cushion, “In life or…?”</p><p>“With being a middle child.” He explained with a little sigh. His mind had started to wander when he was reading with Josie earlier. He knew he was probably over thinking it, but he’d heard <em>stories</em> about middle children, and he didn’t want Josie to grow up with stories like that. He didn’t want his broody little girl to feel left out.</p><p>“There’s nothing wrong with being a middle child Matt, there isn’t some sort of favouritism hierarchy if that’s what you’re worried about” Sylvie told him, his reasons for his worry not being entirely clear to her.</p><p>“I know that, but is<em> she</em> going to know that? She’s so content in everything she does, I just don’t want us to mistake that contentment for happiness. I don’t want our attention to deviate from her because we think she’s fine.” He explained. He was the <em>king</em> of squashing his emotions and he knew that stemmed from bad habits he’d picked up from his parents. He always made a determined effort to ensure his daughters were supported and listened to, but he worried that some things would come down to nature over nurture – including his secret keeping abilities. He didn’t want this to be the spark that sent Josie into some old Casey habits, especially at such a young age.</p><p>“I hear you.” She told him with a nod. She now understood exactly where this was coming from given his own history, and she was determined to take on his fears<em> together</em>. “If there’s one thing our children aren’t lacking in, it’s attention<em>, </em>and I think we have enough love and enough time to spread ourselves evenly between three kids. It might take some time to adjust but Josie will be fine.”</p><p>Matt nodded his head as they climbed into bed and lay down facing each other. Sylvie lifted her hand and rested it on her husband’s cheek, her thumb brushing over his cheek bone. “You’re not your parents Matt. You’re not doomed to repeat their mistakes. Are we always going to get it right? <em>No. </em>We’re not perfect. But we have <em>more</em> than enough of ourselves to give. Everything’s going to be ok. <em>Great</em> in fact. It already is.”</p><p>Matt finally felt the tension and fear leave his body. No matter what, she always knew the right thing to say and the right thing to do. She was this family’s rock, and he couldn’t imagine this life without her. He placed a light kiss on her nose before he rested his forehead against hers.</p><p>“We’re having a baby” he said in a whisper, as a wide grin covered his face that Sylvie in turn matched.</p><p>“Yeah, we are.” She said with a little laugh. “And don’t tell Charlie but – I think it’s a boy.”</p><p>Matt lifted his head from hers and raised his eyebrows, she was only a few weeks along and already her instincts were kicking in.</p><p>“Well, a mother’s intuition is never wrong<em>. Your</em> mother taught me that.” He said with a laugh. “A little boy would be the perfect addition to this family.” He added as he delicately kissed down her cheek. </p><p>They really didn’t know what having three kids would bring to the table. They expected chaos but knowing that there was going to be another little person to bring so much love into their lives made the chaos feel entirely worth it.</p><p>They had a few months to go – but they really couldn’t wait to meet the newest little Casey.</p>
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